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VOL. 11 NO. 246

BAGUIO MEETING Confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa shows to senators a photo of his supposed meeting with Sen. Leila de Lima in Baguio to inform her that Ronnie Dayan would deliver P2.3 million to her in Manila.

GRIG MONTEGRANDE / PDI

Du30 to go after corrupt execs next

BY MARLON RAMOS Philippine Daily Inquirer WILL PRESIDENT Duterte come up with a matrix of dishonest public officials this time?

Reiterating his zero tolerance for corruption, the President is mulling over adopting his “shame campaign” against drug personalties to stem graft and corruption in the bureaucracy.

Addressing the homecoming event of fellow graduates of the San Beda College

of Law, Mr. Duterte said weeding out corruption was a campaign promise he intended to keep.

“I said if I become president, I will do away with corruption in government and it will be. Believe me. I will really go after the corrupt. I am committed to it,” the President told his fellow Bedans.

“I ask everybody working under me, under this government, under the executive department, to please hear me out because I will really pounce on you,” he

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Duterte threatens rights activists

23 Trudeau says yes to contested Trans-Mountain pipeline, maintains climate targets ❱❱ PAGE 16

❱❱ PAGE 9 Du30 to go

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Fil-Can youths find role to follow the spirit of Bonifacio

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Philippine News

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Trillanes: Solons failed to pin down De Lima

BY CHRISTINE O. AVENDANO Philippine Daily Inquirer STAND DOWN and swallow your pride, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV told congressmen demanding that Sen. Leila de Lima explain why she should not be held in contempt for asking her former bodyguard and boyfriend to skip a House inquiry.

Trillanes said congressmen failed to prove that De Lima coddled drug lords, as the testimonies of former bodyguard Ronnie Dayan and confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa on their alleged drug money transactions on behalf of De Lima were nothing but lies.

“They embarrassed Sen. De Lima. They made inmates and Dayan talk but Sen. De Lima is still standing. It’s time to accept the fact that they were not able to prove anything. So now, swallow your pride and stand down,” Trillanes told the congressmen on Sunday in a radio program.

Trillanes said that while

abroad, he monitored the Senate and House inquiries that touched on De Lima’s alleged pocketing of payola from suspected drug lords.

Trillanes was asked to comment on the bid of the House of Representatives to issue a show cause order against De Lima after Dayan’s daughter testified that the senator had told her in a text message that Dayan should skip the House inquiry because congressmen would just ridicule him.

The House had wanted Dayan to testify in its probe after New Bilibid Prison (NBP) inmates tagged him as the alleged bagman of De Lima. Dayan went into hiding until his arrest last week in La Union. He has since testified that he received money for De Lima from Espinosa.

But Dayan said it was De Lima who instructed him to get the money from Espinosa, a big contrast to the claim of Espinosa that he talked directly to Dayan who was introduced to him by Albuera, Leyte police chief Insp. Jovie Espenido.

Trillanes acknowledged he did not believe allegations that

ate last week, Espinosa said he had a photo opportunity with De Lima at Burnham Park in Baguio City in November last year or before he handed Dayan P4 million of the P8 million he allegedly gave De Lima as protection money.

“Where have you seen a situation where one has a confidential meeting but you go to Burnham Park and have your picture taken there?” he said.

Peter Lim, Duterte photo

Rep. Reynaldo V. Umali (left), Chairperson of the House Committee on Justice, displays the Show Cause Order against Senator Leila De Lima, which was served at the office of Senate Secretary Atty. Lutgardo Barbo (right) .

AVITO C. DALAN / PNA

De Lima received money from suspected drug lords inside and outside NBP. He said the testimonies of Dayan and Espinosa diverged because they were not telling the truth.

“I really doubt that their claims really happened. For me, even body language, assess-

ing their testimonies, [their allegations] were not true. That was why it was hard to patch up their stories,” Trillanes said.

He also took issue with how some congressmen made a big deal out of the picture showing De Lima together with Espinosa.

In his testimony at the Sen-

He pointed out that President Duterte himself had been photographed thrice with suspected drug lord Peter Lim whom he also said “remained untouchable.”

Trillanes also said that if De Lima was indeed a coddler of drug lords, then she would have made sure that she would butter up to Mr. Duterte once he took power.

“Why would you fight a President if you have so many [pieces of ] baggage? You will butter up to him. You will do that because you don’t want your case to be revived or a case filed against you,” Trillanes said. ■

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Airport staff told: Ok to say Baby abandoned at Merry Christmas but…

Where’s my mommy?

airport by passenger

BY JEANNETTE I. ANDRADE Philippine Daily Inquirer AN OVERSEAS Filipino worker who had just arrived in Manila from Jordan left her baby with a woman she had befriended earlier at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia).

At press time Friday, airport officials were still waiting for Vilma Lastima, the mother of the 3-month-old baby, to return and claim her child. Otherwise, the baby will be turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) as part of standard procedure.

Myrna Bonaobra, the woman who was left with the baby, told the Inquirer she was at Naia Terminal 1 Friday morning to meet a friend. While waiting, she began talking to Lastima who said she arrived Thursday night from Amman, Jordan.

Instant friendship

“I’m a friendly person. We just started chatting even if I did not know her. She told me she lives in Davao and had nowhere to stay here [in Metro Manila],” Bonaobra said.

“I said she could stay in my house temporarily because I was concerned for the baby and she really seemed to need a place to stay,” she added.

Errand to run

Bonaobra, herself an OFW, said that Lastima accepted her offer but at 10 a.m., the woman asked her to “momentarily” look after her son because she had an errand to run.

“I even teased her that she might not come back,” Bonaobra said, adding that Lastima turned over her travel documents as well as the baby’s to assure her that she would be returning.

After several hours, however, Bonaobra became alarmed and asked the Airport Police Department (APD) for help.

Based on the travel documents, the baby was born on Aug. 30 in Amman, Jordan.

The APD’s Nestor Dugan said the child would be turned over to the DSWD although he was hopeful that the baby’s mother would return. Dugan, meanwhile, assured the public they would exert every effort to track her down and return the baby to her. ■

BY JEANNETTE I. ANDRADE Philippine Daily Inquirer AT NINOY Aquino International Airport (Naia), it’s all right for employees to greet passengers “Merry Christmas” but they shouldn’t do it “with palm facing up.”

So warned Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) general manager Ed Monreal, who said airport workers may extend Christmas cheer to passengers “as long as the delivery of the message is not intended to ask directly or indirectly for gifts.”

Erring employees “will definitely be (meted) disciplinary action,” he stressed, adding, “It really depends on how they say ‘Merry Christmas,’ especially if they say it with palm facing up.

We won’t allow those things to happen.”

Speaking on Friday’s press briefing at MIAA, Monreal said Filipinos were so hospitable that it was only natural for them to extend holiday greetings to people to convey the joy of the season. He also admitted that “with so many employees, it will be very hard to monitor them.”

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Instead, he added, MIAA officials will “rely on feedback from passengers. We have hotlines that they can call to report this and we will definitely act on it. If an employee has a different meaning for a greeting, there will be penalties and sanctions.”

Airport workers caught soliciting gifts “might not even see Christmas because they’ll be sent to the freezer and thawed

by New Year,” Monreal said in jest.

While employees of the Bureau of Immigration and Bureau of Customs, who are based at Naia, are not under the MIAA’s jurisdiction, Monreal said that “they also know (about this prohibition) and are very sensitive about it. President (Duterte) really means it when he warned that a passenger may slap a government employee who (solicits gifts).”

He added: “I just hope nobody gets slapped by the end of the Christmas season.” ■

Pres. Duterte reiterates warnings vs. drug lords during inauguration of drug rehab center

BY JELLY F. MUSICO Philippines News Agency LAUR, NUEVA ECIJA — President Rodrigo R. Duterte reiterated on Tuesday his vow to clear the country of drug lords after spearheading the inauguration of the first mega Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Center (DATRC) in the country.

“Let me warn you, drug is a very virulent agent in any society. The campaign against drug will continue until the last day of my term. I will not stop until the last drug pusher is out of the street and the last drug lord or king killed,” President Duterte

said in his speech.

“That’s my promise to you. I don’t care about media, whether it’s international or…that is not my problem anymore. Elections are over and what I need to do is just to comply with my promise,” he added.

President Duterte was assisted by Chinese philanthropist Huang Rulun in unveiling the mega DATRC situated inside a 100,000-square meter lot of the Fort Magsaysay here.

Impressed by President Duterte’s war against illegal drugs, Rulun donated PHP1.4 billion for the construction of the DATRC which, once completed, can cater to about 10,000 in-patients.

“Mr. Huang, please accept my gratitude for the Filipino people,” the President said, drawing applause from the government officials, local leaders and Department of Health (DOH) family led by Secretary Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial.

President Duterte said he will not allow the Philippines to sink like Colombia because of illegal drugs.

“I said there will be no more compromise. The only compromise here that is acceptable to me is you surrender,” President Duterte said.

“If you continue… I said, you might end losing not only your funds but your life because I told the police, the law enforcers and www.canadianinquirer.net

the men, do not hesitate to kill, especially if you think that your life is in danger,” he added.

The government’s strong war against illegal drugs has prompted 780,000 drug dependents to surrender to the authorities.

Secretary Ubial said at least one percent or 7,800 of the surrenderers will be rehabilitated inside the mega DATRC which has already 2,500 beds available for the patients coming from 43 other crowded rehab centers in the country.

She said some 800 personnel have been hired by the DOH for the DATRC, where drug users will be given spiritual and value formation seminars aside from

livelihood works.

“The concept of the rehabilitation is to make sure that they are removed from the community and to stop them from using drugs,” Ubial said in a media interview.

President Duterte’s war on drugs has resulted in the death of nearly 2,000 drug users and pushers killed in legitimate police operations.

The President said the victims of extrajudicial killings were silenced by the police generals whom he named to have links in the illicit drug operations in the country.

The construction of the DATRC started only last August. ■

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CENTURY PROPERTIES’ CONCEPT DEVELOPMENTS:

Move right into a beachside community, a residential Eden, or a nurturing environment JUST IMMEDIATELY after Bicutan exit from the South Luzon expressway in the Philippines is a condominium community that continues to surprise guests. It is the Azure Urban Resort Residences, which attracted a lot of attention when Paris Hilton inaugurated its central amenity called the Paris Beach Club.

Not common among urban developments, it has become a huge part of the community’s appeal. If in the past, themes often meant “design,” these days, a themed development offers an entirely experiential level. Century Properties, which celebrates its 30 years in Philippine real estate, is pushing the envelope by bringing more than just the sheen of exterior aesthetics into our lives—that is, through dynamic lifestyles that come with beautifully designed homes.

If you’re ready to move, consider the following choices: beachside living in Azure Urban Resort Residences in Paranaque City, a residential Eden at Acqua Private Residences in Mandaluyong City, or a nurturing environment at the Residences at Commonwealth in Quezon City.

At the Azure, home is beachside living. The first residents of the 9-building development now enjoy what may be the rarest amenity feature among condominium communities in the city. Sunbathing on the sand, beach volleyball, and of course, swimming, are as much a daily option as they wish. That’s like coming home to a resort every single day of the year.

Complementing the beach set up is a beach bar that offers the pleasures of sundown cocktails.

The community’s own clubhouse— the Paris Beach Club –is also by the water and offers an entire set of lifestyle options such as dining, exercising, spa treatments, film viewing, and gaming.

Going much deeper into the city, one finds the Acqua, where two of its towers are now livable communities—the Niagara and Sutherland. Like all of Acqua’s towers, both overlook a simulation

The Azure Urban Resort Residences offer beachside living daily.

The Niagara Tower has its own skypark on the roof which allows residents to take in 360-degree views of the city.

of a tropical rainforest, or trails of greens that open to a vibrant waterfront.

In the middle of this is the nowrising amenity called The Pebble, a country club by the water facing an ever dynamic urban center.

Located right smack in the center of the development, it’s the perfect retreat for someone entrenched daily in the hustle of an ever mobile city. It is fronted by a Riverwalk Promenade which will house

several commercial establishments.

In the near future, residents shall have more lifestyle choices courtesy of Acqua Livingstone which is being interior designed

by MissoniHome and Acqua Iguazu, whose interiors are by yoo inspired by Starck. Both seamlessly fuse their nature-inspired designs with the hugely verdant themes pervading the entire development.

Each tower has its own roofdeck amenity. Where Acqua Livingstone

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has The Canopy, the Acqua Iguazu has The Cielo. The Canopy spans two levels where varied pursuits find their home: function rooms, business centers, gyms, library, and other amenities that promote health, wellbeing, and cultural curiosity on the lower level; an amphitheater, a DJ booth and dance floor, pool, and BBQ facilities, its social and entertainment space on the upper level.

Tying these two levels together is an organic wire-mesh tree that winds its way up and connects to the mezzanine floor which may be used as an open-air dining area or an observation deck.

The Cielo, meanwhile promotes interaction between residents.

It has a common dining area, a library, a bar. And looming above this is a Cielo feature, an orb that assumes the sun’s character by day, and the moon, by night.

The Residences Commonwealth, meanwhile, is a venue to pursue one’s passion. It takes a multifaceted approach to amenity development. This community bears a nurturing spirit, what with indoor and outdoor spaces that provide holistic, active, and healthy lifestyle experiences.

There will be areas that promote activity and wellness such as a basketball court, space for sports activities, athletic bootcamp area, gym and fitness center, and its own version of a children’s playground, The Orchard, a peeled appleinspired treehouse with slides and ladder.

Forget having idle moments as venues for learning on your own or with groups will abound: an arts & crafts studio, a dance studio within the gym, a cooking studio, and a school of rock.

Toddlers also get their own space via the crèche (a nursery) and kindergarten.

At a Century Properties home, living is an elevated experience, and arrivals are an anticipated daily routine—much more than the usual.

Visit www.century-properties.com for information.

Philippine News

FRIDAY DECEMBER 2, 2016

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Duterte threatens rights activists

BY MARLON RAMOS Philippine Daily Inquirer PRESIDENT DUTERTE has threatened to kill human rights activists critical of his war on illegal drugs and called warnings he could be charged in the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the bloody campaign “bullshit.”

In a speech in Malacañang on Monday night, Mr. Duterte said those accusing him of ordering the summary execution of drug suspects should be blamed if the country’s drug problem worsened.

“The human rights (defenders) said I ordered the killings. I told them ‘OK. Let’s stop. We’ll let them (drug users) multiply so that when it’s harvest time, more people will die,” the President said at the inaugural switch-on of a coal-fired power plant.

“I will include you because you are the reason why their numbers swell,” he said in Filipino.

Official figures show that police antidrug operations have left 2,500 dead since Mr. Duterte took office on June 30.

Another 2,500 drug-related deaths mainly attributed to vigilantes have been reported.

An ICC prosecutor last month said The Hague-based tribunal may have jurisdiction to prosecute the perpetrators of the drug-related killings.

ICC, US

“You threaten me that you will jail me? International

President Rodrigo Duterte shares a pile of documents containing names of government workers who are involved in illegal drug trade with the officials of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines KING RODRIGUEZ / PPD / PNA

Criminal Court? Bullshit,” Mr. has been ridiculing concerns According to Mr. Duterte, the Duterte said on Monday. that extrajudicial killings could West has failed to comprehend He scolded the United States be taking place in his antidrug the gravity of the Philippines’ for what he called hypocritical war, and the United States, Eu- drug problem. He has said he is threats to try him in the ICC, to ropean Union and United Na- ready to “rot in jail” to achieve which Washington itself is not tions have been the preferred his goals. a signatory. He did not specify targets of his comments.

There is nothing wrong with when the US threatening threat was made. to kill bad eleThe United ments, he said on States chose Monday. not to sign the The human rights (defenders) said I “I will never Rome Statute ordered the killings. I told them ‘OK. allow my counto protect forLet’s stop. We’ll let them (drug users) try to be thrown mer President multiply so that when it’s harvest to the dogs,” the George W. Bush, time, more people will die.

President said. “I Mr. Duterte said, said, when I was without elaboa mayor, ‘If you rating. destroy my city “America itself is threatening The brash former mayor and with drugs I will kill you.’ to jail me in the International prosecutor said lawyers in Eu“Simple as that …. When Criminal Court,” Mr. Duterte rope were “rotten,” “stupid” was it a crime to say, ‘I will said. “It is not a signatory of and had a “brain like a pea.” kill you,’ in protecting my that body. Why? Because at that This month, Mr. Duterte said country?” time, they were afraid Bush he might follow Russia’s move would face it.” to withdraw from the ICC, de- Validated list For months, the President scribing it as “useless.”

Mr. Duterte showed his au-

dience a 10-centimeter-thick pile of documents containing the “validated list” of about 5,000 public officials allegedly behind the illegal drug trade.

He said most of those benefiting from the illicit business were village officials who were earning “easy money.” “[That’s why] I acceded to [the postponement of ] an election this year for the barangay captains. We would have lost to the money of the drug industry,” he said.

Mr. Duterte said he also showed the documents to former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria MacapagalArroyo during a one-on-one meeting.

The President had blamed Arroyo and his predecessor, Benigno Aquino III, for allowing the drug trade to proliferate during their incumbency.

“I am not trying to scare you,” he said.

“This is the drug industry of the Philippines. These are all the names,” he said.

“I showed this to [former] President Arroyo. I said, ‘Ma’am, we are in a bind. I really do not know how to [handle this]. I surrender. I cannot do this.’”

Even if he wanted to kill all those on the list, Mr. Duterte said he “would not have the time and resources to do it.”

He said “narcopolitics” was already existing in the Philippines “given the so many thousands of policemen and mayors involved” in the sale and distribution of illegal drugs. ■

Scared Pasig cops in viral video transferred to SAF

BY JEROME ANING Philippine Daily Inquirer TWO ROOKIE policemen who were caught on video trying to hide during a shooting incident in Pasig City on Nov. 11 have been relieved and ordered to undergo retraining.

Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa approved the PNP directorate for personnel records and management’s order for the transfer of PO1 Herminio Manalastas and PO1

Jayson Riego. From the National Capital Region Police Office, the rookies were transferred to the PNP-Special Action Force (SAF) effective on Nov. 24, according to PNP spokesperson Senior Supt. Dionardo Carlos.

In a statement, Carlos said the two were recommended to undergo “commando training,” including law enforcement refresher and military operations courses, with the SAF, the PNP’s elite mobile unit.

“We want that our policemen be ready to fight; courageous

and not cowards—true policemen who go to fight and not run away from a fight. That is the culture we want to develop in the PNP. But, of course, [this attitude] should not be abused,” Carlos added.

In a video posted on social media that has gone viral, the two policemen were on routine patrol and seated inside a drugstore when a shooting victim ran into the establishment.

Instead of helping the victim and looking for the shooter, the lawmen ran next to the counwww.canadianinquirer.net

ter and hid, one of them nearly stepping on the victim in his haste.

The gunman also entered the drugstore but retreated when he saw the policemen.

The victim, later identified as Dominador Cruz, was brought to a hospital but died of gunshot wounds.

The conduct of the two policemen was criticized by netizens and Pasig police chief, Senior Supt. Orlando Yebra, ordered them relieved and investigated.

In a television interview, Ye-

bra said the two lawmen might have been rattled by the sound of gunfire as the victim entered the store. Carlos, meanwhile, asked policemen not to treat lightly their responsibility to keep peace and order.

“In these times, our policemen should be sensitive to what is happening in their surroundings and to prioritize responding to those in need.

We have this sworn duty to serve and protect and we have to be more dedicated because it is our mandated task,” he said. ■

Philippine News

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Kerwin: Police deep into illegal drugs Confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa testifies top police officials were on his payroll “May God forgive you,” De Lima tells Espinosa as she denies receiving money from him

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BY CHRISTINE O. AVENDAÑO, TARRA QUISMUNDO AND JEANNETTE I. ANDRADE Philippine Daily Inquirer “MY FATHER-MAYOR had nothing to do with my drug racket, Espinosa tells Senate inquiry In a testimony that made Philippine National Police Director General Ronald dela Rosa cry, confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa on Wednesday disclosed the full extent of police involvement in his illegal drug trade.

Espinosa said he did business with policemen manning checkpoints to regional officials themselves supplying “shabu” (crystal meth).

Sen. Leila de Lima and top police officials whom Espinosa said were on his payroll all denied wrongdoing.

The high police officials included those who participated in the Nov. 5 raid on the Leyte sub-provincial jail where Kerwin’s father was killed.

“I do not know now whom to believe,” said Dela Rosa, nicknamed “Bato,” who unabashedly cried during the nine-hour nationally televised hearing in the Senate.

“I place in God the PNP. I love the organization ... there are still many policemen who can be trusted,” he said.

Espinosa said that in exchange for protection, he paid off De Lima, retired Chief Supt. Vicente Loot, one of the top officials President Duterte had accused of involvement in the illegal drug trade, as well as three police officers who were implicated in the killing of his father, Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. Espinosa, who fled the country in June fearing for his life after Mr. Duterte promised a relentless war on narcotics, finally faced the Senate committee investigating the death of his father during a police raid on the Leyte subprovincial jail on Nov. 5.

He detailed the network of protectors that he had built to shield his business, which earned him P40 million to P50 million yearly.

The 36-year-old, who said he went by the code name “Batman” in his drug transactions, also outlined how drug convicts were able to continue their activities while in jail.

Before Espinosa testified before the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs, his lawyer had sought immunity for him. Espinosa was captured in Abu Dhabi and was returned to the country last week.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson, the committee chair, said he would seek the approval of Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III for the immunity request on a motion of Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III,

AVITO C.DALAN / PNA`

which was unopposed.

On payroll

Among the people whom Espinosa said were on his payroll were: • De Lima—a total of P8 million through her former bodyguard and boyfriend Ronnie Dayan. He said he met her personally at Burnham Park in Baguio City in November last year after Dayan arranged it.

• Supt. Marvin Marcos, director of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Eastern Visayas—P3 million to fund the election campaign of his wife in May. • Chief Insp. Leo Laraga, who shot Espinosa’s father dead during the Nov. 5 raid—P20,000 weekly.

• Supt. Santi Noel Matira, raiding team supervisor in the Leyte jail assault—P15,000 weekly, increased to P20,000 weekly after his operations widened through Eastern Visayas.

• The biggest police official he named on his payroll was Loot, now mayor of Daanbantayan, Cebu province, who allegedly received P120,000 per month.

He said Laraga had recommended the payoff to Loot, then deputy of Provincial Region Office 8. “I gave General Loot money until his transfer to the Training Center in Camp Crame,” Espinosa said.

Espinosa said in August last year, Albuera police chief, Senior Insp. Jovie Espenido, told him that Dayan wanted to speak to him about De Lima’s need to raise funds for her senatorial campaign. He said it was Peter Co, an inmate at New Bilibid Prison (NBP), who confirmed that De Lima was seeking funds.

He said Dayan asked for P2 million but he could only shell out P700,000 monthly. Dayan called him to say that De Lima had agreed to the monthly P700,000 but wanted goodwill money

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of P2 million, which he delivered at the parking lot of SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City in August last year.

He said he was not able to give the P700,000 monthly because this time Dayan was asking for P8 million.

The second time he gave Dayan P1.7 million was at a restaurant in Dampa along Macapagal Avenue in October last year.

Espinosa said he asked Dayan if he could meet De Lima. Between Nov. 19 and 22 last year, Dayan arranged a meeting in Baguio City where Espinosa was to bring P2 million.

They met at Burnham Park and Espinosa said he brought his family along. De Lima was there, and Dayan introduced him as Batman.

He and his family had a photo taken with De Lima. “We shook hands after the picture taking and I whispered to her that Dayan has the money. Ma’am Leila just nodded,” Espinosa said.

Espinosa next gave Dayan P2.3 million in February this year at SM Mall of Asia.

Dealers in jail

Espinosa read most of the time from his 27-page affidavit. He said he began selling drugs in 2004 in Cebu City. He was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2005.

At the Lahug jail in Cebu City, he met four inmates dealing shabu, including Jeffrey Diaz, alias Jaguar, who was supplied by Lovely Adam Impal, who now lives in Makati City.

“I was able to save P1.5 million while I was in jail,” Espinosa said.

He was transferred to NBP, where he continued his business with another inmate, Co, who supplied him from 4 to 10 ❱❱ PAGE 12 Kerwin: Police

Philippine News

FRIDAY DECEMBER 2, 2016

NPOBAC chief, members resign

BY GIL CABACUNGAN Philippine Daily Inquirer ELEVEN OFFICIALS of the National Printing Office (NPO) resigned en masse to protest the alleged “pressure” exerted by their boss, Francisco V. Vales Jr., to favor a private printer, Topbest.

In a phone interview, Sherwin Prose C. Castañeda, chair of the NPO bid and awards committee, said they were forced to quit after Vales, a protege of President Duterte, pushed the BAC to renew the P50-million lease contract of his handpicked printer without conducting a public bidding.

“He (Vales) is always asking us why we canceled the contract. He wants us to renew the contract but it should not be since contracts should go through public bidding and there should be no one favored on who would get the contract,” Castañeda said.

He claimed that Vales had entered into lease contracts with 12 printers worth P50 million each or a total of P600 million.

“When we (BAC members) assumed last September, we made reforms particularly to ensure that we will only conduct a bidding if we have a budget. We reduced the contracts to P20 million because that is only what our funds can support,” Castañeda said.

Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said he has instructed Undersecretary Enrique Tandan, officer in charge of the legal affairs of the Good Governance and GOCCS, to look into charges that Vales was pressuring the BAC to pick Topbest.

NPO is an attached agency of Andanar’s office, the Presidential Communication Operation Office.

Too much pressure

In their letter to Vales, Castañeda said: “This resignation is prompted by ‘too much’ pressure in the bidding of leasing of printing machines. Your instruction to renew the contract of Topbest for the leasing of machine runs contrary to the essence of public bidding under Republic Act No. 9184. We bid machines according to the Procurement Law not knowing in advance whoever wins in the

bidding,” Castañeda said.

Castañeda said the NPO had “full faith and confidence” in the promised reforms especially since Vales was a “former employee of Davao City where the President served as a mayor for more than two decades.”

“However, the pressure you are exerting on the BAC is simply not acceptable,” Castañeda told Vales. He said Vales should stop pressuring the BAC. The eleven career NPO executives sent their resignation letters last Nov. 21. Aside from, Castañeda, the NPO members who resigned were NPO-BAC members Ma. Cristina M. Morales, Michelle F. Japson, Benedict Sagun and Amado Valsorable; BAC Secretariat members Teres R. Tobias (head), Dina M. Badua, Winon V. Balmores, Wilma Delansig, Federico Israel D.G. Ramos III, and Jennifer Tomas.

More problems

Castañeda said Vales had not accepted their mass resignation because he would have more problems forming a new BAC because nobody wanted to sit as member with him always pressuring them to do his will.

Vales wrote to Andanar the next day and stated that “the resignation with all its signatories and reason stated be included as subject of the investigation.”

Vales himself has pushed for a probe of Castañeda who was accused of maneuvering print orders worth P66 million for the Social Security System (SSS) which were awarded to three printers: Best Forms, Tri-Print Work and Metro Color Co. But Castañeda said he did not have a hand in the assignment of the contracts awarded to the private printers considering that these were not subject to bidding by the BAC. “At the time I assumed as chair of BAC last Sept. 6, the work for SSS has already been assigned by our Production Planning and Control Division (PPCD) to the three private printers. The assignment of jobs to private printers is done

by PPCD,” Castañeda said.

NPO is one of three recognized printers of government forms, the other two are Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and APO Production Unit. ■

9

Pres. Duterte to proceed with visit in Marawi City despite ambush attempt on PSG

BY JELLY F. MUSICO Philippines News Agency LAUR, NUEVA ECIJA — President Rodrigo R. Duterte said he will proceed with his plan to visit Marawi City on Wednesday despite an ambush attempt on a convoy of Presidential Security Group (PSG) personnel, Radio TV Malacanang (RTVM) and local troop escorts.

“I’m going there. I am just simply going there. The advice was to postpone, I said ‘no’. I will go there and if possible, take the same route,” President Duterte said in his speech during the inauguration of the mega Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Center (DATRC) on Tuesday at Fort Magsaysay here.

“Maybe we can have a little gunfight here, gunfight there.

Exercise, maybe. If I will not survive, she is there, that’s why we have a Vice President Leni Robredo. Then you can have a gentle President also in exchange for a discourteous mouth,” he added.

The convoy of the advance party of the President was waylaid via a roadside improvised electronic device (IED) while on their way to Marawi City on Tuesday morning.

As a result, seven PSG personnel and two regular troops escorting the convoy were injured and were airlifted immediately by the presidential chopper to undisclosed hospitals.

President Duterte is scheduled to visit Lanao del Sur on

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte visits soldiers who were wounded in action at Camp Basilio Navarro in Zamboanga City.

ALBERT ALCAIN / PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / PNA

Wednesday to boost the morale of the government troops fighting the Maute terror group which reportedly occupied a portion of Butig town in that province.

“I have to go to the hospitals to visit them tomorrow. That’s why I have to go home tonight,” President Duterte said.

The military operations have resulted in the killing of about 40 members of the Maute Group which President Duterte said has links to the international terrorist group ISIS or Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

“The problem is Mindanao itself and the Moro people will go for it at all costs. Remember that the Moro was ahead of us by almost a thousand years because they are the natives there when the Spaniards and the Americans were there to conquer the island. So if I may correctly describe it, actually, it’s the Moro nationalism that’s at work,” the President added.

When asked in an ambush media interview how he will deal with the Maute Group, President Duterte’s short answer was: “Kaibiganin natin para walang gulo (Let’s befriend with them so that there is no trouble).”

In his speech, President Duterte said he can fight the government’s enemies in Mindanao the whole your-round but “for how long and at what cost?”

“I can order the invasion of Jolo and give the order, ‘the last man standing.’ I can burn Jolo, I can burn Basilan. Bomb everything there. But what would it bring us? If you think that I will wipe out humanity there, will we at last enjoy the blessings of peace?,” he asked.

The President said if he cannot find peace under his administration, “then I’ll give it to the next President.”

“Do better but do not concede more than what you can really give,” he said. ■

just tune in and they would know the idiots who are corrupting this country.”

Setting aside the principle of due process, Mr. Duterte said he was ready to “apologize every day” if anybody would be wrongfully accused.

“Fair is fair. But to the others, I’m sorry … I will really put you to shame. I will ask you to resign. That’s the only way,” he

said.

The accused public officers who refused to step down from their posts would face charges or suspension, according to the President.

He said he might also move for the abolition of grafttainted government agencies or just let the subordinates take over from their corrupt superiors. ■

Du30 to go... continued.

He said he would ask the public to send text messages and other information about erring government officials, which would be released publicly through the state-run People’s Television Network.

“Never mind about libel and all,” the President said. “The people of the Philippines can ❰❰ 1

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10

Philippine News

DECEMBER 2, 2016

FRIDAY

Land tax hike seen adding P300M for QC yearly

BY ERIKA SAULER Philippine Daily Inquirer THE QUEZON City government sees at least P300 million in additional real property tax (RPT) collections each year once it implements an updated fair market value for land as directed by the Commission on Audit (COA).

This was the projection made

by Sherry Gonzalvo, chief legal officer of the office of the city assessor, as she disclosed that P5.9 billion in real property taxes was collected in 2015.

Councilor Allan Benedict Reyes, chair of the city council’s ways and means committee, said the additional RPT collections could help fund more

development projects for se- ty values that was last adjusted conducted 23 public hearings nior citizens and persons with in 1995, or 21 years ago. in different barangays to disdisabilities (PWDs) in Quezon Mayor Herbert Bautista then cuss the draft ordinance for City. asked the committee on ways the revised schedule, Reyes “This is one of the programs and means to comply with the said. that will be adHe added that dressed once we the city counhave revised the cil recently apfair market valproved to double ues of our lands the funding for and properties.

The COA recently ordered the the senior citizen We will also have Quezon City government to revise and PWD secmore expansion its outdated real property values that tors, allotting 1 projects, such as was last adjusted in 1995, or 21 years percent of the a new hospital in ago. annual budget Batasan,” Reyes exclusively for sesaid in a statenior citizens and ment on Sunday.

1 percent for infrastructure projOutdated ects for PWDs. The COA recently ordered recommendation of the COA the Quezon City government to and the Department of Finance. Seniors, PWDs revise its outdated real properThe committee has so far Senior citizens in Quezon

City currently receive an additional 18-percent discount on medical and dental services within two weeks of their birthday.

They are also entitled to free parking in business establishments, and can use pay restrooms and watch movies for free.

Centenarians also receive P10,000 cash gift on their 100th birthday, a monthly allowance of P1,000, a cash gift of P1,000 on every succeeding birthday and P1,000 every Christmas.

An ordinance approved in 2015 also grants senior citizens a new tax break: when they sell their house and lot in Quezon City, they are no longer required to pay transfer tax. ■

RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO PHL: Palace to study terms of UN probe ‘We are ready to become a new reliable friend and partner of the Philippines’

BY LEILA B. SALAVERRIA Philippine Daily Inquirer

THE PHILIPPINE government will study the conditions set by the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings for her inquiry into the deaths of drug suspects since President Duterte launched his war on drugs, Malacañang said on Wednesday.

An interagency body set up by the Presidential Human Rights Committee headed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea will discuss the government’s response to UNSpecial Rapporteur Agnes Callamard, said Assistant Communications Secretary Ana Marie Banaag.

The government had invited Callamard to look into mounting allegations of summary executions in the bloody campaign against illegal drugs, which had killed nearly 5,000 people since July.

Callamard said in a briefing note posted on the website of the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights that she plans to visit the country in 2017, and her fact-finding mission will be “in full accordance with the Terms of Reference for Fact-Finding Missions by Spe-

cial Rapporteurs.”

The terms include free, confidential and unsupervised interviews with victims, their families, legal representatives, detainees, and civil society representatives, as well as unrestricted access to all regions and places of detention and facilities.

Aside from free movement and free access to interviewees, the terms call for government security to persons who cooperated in the inquiry and an assurance that they would not be intimidated, threatened, harassed or punished.

“These are essential guarantees which ensure that the mission delivers on its outcomes, to the benefit of all those involved,” Callamard said.

Sen. Bam Aquino earlier said an interagency body has been created to discuss the conditions set by Callamard and by the Philippine government.

The President had required a public debate with Callamard over the allegations of extrajudicial killings, said Aquino.

Callamard said her visit would not be a criminal or judicial proceeding. It is meant to “examine the level of protection of the right to life in law and in practice” in the country, she said. ■

BY SAMMY F. MARTIN Philippines News Agency MANILA — After President Rodrigo Duterte announced that he is interested to visit Russia and be a major trade partner, Russian Ambassador to the Philippines Igor Khovaev on Tuesday said his country is “ready to become a new reliable friend and partner of the Philippines.”

“We are not talking about alliance, we are talking about friendship and partnership.

I would like to draw your attention to this very important point,” Khovaev told reporters at the weekly Pandesal Forum in Quezon City, He clarified that Russia is not seeking for military alliances in the Asia Pacific region, stressing that they have no military alliances.

“Our close relations with China, with Vietnam, with India, they are based on the model of strategic partnership,” he explained.

The ambassador said there is a difference between partnership and military alliance, www.canadianinquirer.net

Russia is ready to supply sophisticated arms and weapons needed by the Philippines, Russian Ambassador to the Philippines Igor Khovaev.

ROLAND NABLO / PNA

explaining military alliance provides strong mutual commitments.

“So, we prefer partnership and friendship because in our view, the security must be equal to all members of the international community. If some country creates a close military alliance, it means that they want to ensure their security, at least to some extent, at the expense of the security of other nations, other members of the international community.

That’s not our stand, style, not a way for us. So, we speak in favor

of a new architecture of equal security for all regional nations.

With regards to the visit of President Rodrigo Duterte to Russia, he said, President Putin has invited President Duterte to pay such a visit.

“It will be a historic event, and we believe that such an important visit must be well-prepared. It means that we, I mean both sides, should prepare the package of documents, bilateral preparations in different fields to be signed during this visit, so with that, there’s a lot of things to do,” he stressed. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY DECEMBER 2, 2016

11

Du30 unaware of Marcos’ burial date, Palace insists

BY MARLON RAMOS AND LEILA B. SALAVERRIA Philippine Daily Inquirer BELIEVE IT or not, President Duterte did not know about the exact burial date of strongman Ferdinand Marcos at Libingan ng mga Bayani, according to Malacañang.

A Palace spokesperson said the President was on his way to Lima, Peru, to attend the Apec summit when the dictator was buried in a family-only affair arranged by the military at the heroes’ cemetery in Taguig City on Nov. 18.

The stealth that attended the burial sparked massive protests in Metro Manila and in major cities around the country. Despite President Duterte’s access to intelligence gathered by the state, the burial of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos at Libingan ng mga Bayani on Nov. 18 went under his radar.

Believe it or not, Malacañang yesterday insisted that Mr. Duterte was unaware that the late tyrant’s burial was to be held a day before he left for Lima, Peru, to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit.

This contradicted an earlier statement of one of the President’s most trusted aides, Director General Ronald de la Rosa of the Philippine National Police, that Mr. Duterte had been informed of the burial.

The assistant presidential communications secretary, Marie Banaag, said Mr. Duterte was already in transit to Lima when reports on the rushed burial came out.

“We have been so consistent about that. It has been very clear that insofar as the President is concerned, he wanted that kind of burial for the former President. But as to the exact date, we don’t know because that is a family decision,” Banaag said at a press briefing in Malacañang.

Funeral wreath

She dismissed insinuations that Mr. Duterte was told beforehand of the burial date as he had sent a funeral wreath extending his condolences to the Marcoses, who had supported his candidacy in the May 9 presidential election.

“We’re not the ones who lost a loved one. It’s not the government or this administration that lost a loved one for us to decide on everything,” she said.

Banaag said the President’s plate was already full with other pressing concerns for him to think about sending funeral flowers for the deposed strongman’s burial.

“Our country is beset with many problems. We are not saying that the (Marcos) burial is not an issue. What we’re saying is that the President is attending to many other things,” Banaag said.

“I don’t really think the President still thought of sending the funeral wreath .... He just respects the dead and he only did what the law says,” she continued.

Unaware of exact date

Before flying back home on Monday night, the President told Filipino journalists who covered his attendance at the Apec meeting that he “knew nothing” about the exact date of the Marcos burial.

Said Mr. Duterte: “In all honesty, I’m telling you: ‘I knew nothing about it.’ They only asked me when would be the ‘appropriate time for me? I said, ‘do as you wish.’”

“I didn’t ask them and why would I ask? I allowed it already so what’s it to me? What would I get if I had known in advance whether he would be there for the interment on that day?” he added.

Protests, Ramos

The burial sparked protests from groups and individuals,

Placards and candles have been replaced by today’s tablets and smartphones as millennials take their gadgets to Rizal Park for the “Black Friday” anti-Marcos protests last November 25.

NINO ORBETA / PDI

who claim that Marcos did not deserve to be entombed at Libingan as he was not a hero.

Former President Fidel Ramos also opposed the move, describing it as an “insult to veterans.”

Ramos castigated the covert manner of the burial that he said was carried out with connivance among the Marcos family, military and police officials. He said the Duterte administration was “losing support, they are losing friends.”

“We respect the opinion of former President Ramos but the President’s position is very clear: The Supreme Court ruled on the basis of its appreciation of the legal aspect of the case, not on whether martial law led to human rights violations or some other political issue,” Banaag said.

As to whether Mr. Duterte has been losing friends because of the developments, she said she knew of no desertions.

“So far, there has been none.

We know of no such development. The President will arrive and they will talk,” she said.

‘Big brother’

She said Ramos had been clear that while he might disagree with the President’s decisions or positions on certain issues, he

www.canadianinquirer.net

remained a “big brother.”

Mr. Duterte credited Ramos for convincing him to run for President and appointed the former Chief Executive as a special envoy to China.

Banaag said that as long as the President trusted his Cabinet secretaries, she saw no reason for them to resign even if they opposed his decision to allow Marcos burial at Libingan.

“They may not agree on various fronts, but then let it not be said this would mean resigning, because they have other programs which they would want to implement together,” she said.

Leftists in Cabinet

Cabinet members who had been martial law activists have castigated the stealthy burial, but have said they would not leave the administration because they still see space for them to engage with the President on other matters.

Mr. Duterte continues to stand firm on his decision allowing Marcos to be laid to rest at the country’s cemetery for heroes amid massive outrage over the stealthy burial, which was carried out before the Supreme Court ruling dismissing the petitions against it became final and executory.

The burial was also an-

nounced only an hour before it took place, and after Libingan was closed to the public and surrounded by state security forces.

Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael “Ka Paeng” Mariano said he would not resign from the Cabinet although he was against the hero’s burial for Marcos.

“Before we entered the government, we were already aware of the differences we have with President Duterte on some issues. Despite our opposing stance on the Marcos burial, we continue to engage him on this matter,” Mariano said in a statement on Monday, three days after Marcos was buried.

Equally important issues

A founding member of the militant farmers’ group, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, Mariano underscored the “equally important issues” he wanted the President to pursue.

“We accepted the post in the Duterte [administration] because we aim to find common grounds in pursuing talks for just and lasting peace including the release of political prisoners, completion of the comprehensive agreement on social and economic reforms, prioritization of social services and the forging of an independent foreign policy,” he said.

He noted that Mr. Duterte had already convened the long defunct Presidential Agrarian Reform Council, resulting in decisions or considerations on “landmark cases,” such as the revocation of two stock distribution option contracts, one agribusiness venture agreement contract, a two-year moratorium on land-use conversion of agricultural lands, condonation of arrears on interests of unpaid amortization by agrarian reform beneficiaries, free irrigation, return of coco levy funds to farmers and end to labor contractualization. ■

12

Philippine News

DECEMBER 2, 2016

FRIDAY

‘Ma’am got Kerwin cash’ Ronnie Dayan, Senator De Lima’s former driver/ lover, made the disclosure at the House of Representatives PNP chief says Dayan will tell all and be a friendly witness in the House inquiry into the narcotics trade

BY JEROME ANING AND NIKKO DIZON Philippine Daily Inquirer THE HUNT for Ronnie Dayan ended before noon on Tuesday in a chase in a rice field in La Union province a month after he snubbed a congressional hearing.

The former driver and bodyguard of Sen. Leila de Lima later told a 20-minute news conference in the House of Representatives that he received money from alleged drug lord Kerwin Espinosa five times and gave it to De Lima when she was still justice secretary.

On questioning by House Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas, Dayan said he did not know the money was from drugs. He also denied he was involved in drugs.

“I received money from Kerwin. I received money as instructed by Ma’am. She was still justice secretary at the time,” Dayan said.

To tell all

Earlier, Philippine National Police Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa told reporters that Dayan was “ready to tell all” about allegations he received protection payoffs from drug lords who had turned New Bilibid Prison (NBP) into a multibillion-peso illegal drug operation when De Lima was justice secretary.

“He told me he is going to be a friendly witness to Congress during the hearing to be conducted tomorrow or the follow-

ing day. He is willing to tell all.

Everything that will be asked of him before Congress he will answer based on the truth,” said Dela Rosa, who presented Dayan at a press conference in Camp Crame.

“He will answer them during the House investigation tomorrow, not now. The Congress might say we’re preempting the hearing,” Dela Rosa said.

“Tomorrow, tomorrow, please,” Dayan replied when asked if it was true that he was De Lima’s bagman and if he knew the younger Espinosa, the alleged No. 1 drug lord in Eastern Visayas, who was arrested in Abu Dhabi and was returned to Manila last week.

Dela Rosa said nobody was exerting undue pressure or duress on Dayan.

Dayan was later turned over to the House sergeant at arms, retired Lt. Gen. Roland Detabali, and was whisked off to the House.

Dayan said he feared for his life and went into hiding after the House committee issued arrest orders for him for ignoring summons to appear in its investigation of the illegal drug trade in NBP, according to Dela Rosa.

High-profile convicts had testified that Dayan received payoffs for De Lima’s senatorial campaign in exchange for protection.

Dayan, who was not handcuffed, wore a bulletproof vest, white shirt and camouflage shorts when presented to the media. He arrived at 5:40 p.m., accompanied by the La Union police chief, Senior Supt. Leo

BEN BRIONES / PNA

Francisco.

7-year romance

Francisco said one of the hiding places they looked for Dayan was in Barangay San Gabriel, Bacnotan, La Union.

“We looked for him for six days until we cornered him,” Francisco recounted.

Asked about allegations that he and De Lima had romantic links, he replied, “It’s true, we had a relationship for seven years.”

He said his last contact with De Lima was shortly before the May senatorial election when she called him to thank him for his support. He said he helped in putting up election posters for the senator’s candidacy.

De Lima earlier admitted in a TV interview having an affair with Dayan, citing the “frailties of a woman.”

Dayan said he lived in a hut owned by an uncle of the spouse of a nephew and got his food

by planting vegetables such as string beans, which gave him arthritis.

He said his arthritis weakened him and made it difficult to elude policemen.

“Not one. Nobody protected, nobody hid me,” he said.

A police source said the operation to arrest Dayan started at 1 p.m. on Monday at Barangay Lacong in San Gabriel town in La Union, based on information that Dayan had been hiding there.

When Dayan learned that policemen were in hot pursuit, he hid in a forest nearby, according to a police official.

The operation was suspended at 4 p.m. on Monday and resumed at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, the official said.

Cornered in a rice field

The police nabbed Dayan at 11:30 a.m. The police video clip showed Dayan running through the rice fields. Dayan was later

shown wearing a bulletproof vest and a helmet being escorted out of the fields.

“He was ready to surrender.

He was unarmed, exhausted and very thirsty,” the official said. “The first thing he asked for was water. He was afraid he would be killed.”

The police took Dayan to the La Union police station, but immediately transferred him to Camp Crame.

Dayan’s hiding place was known to his brother, who lives in Bacnotan town, also in La Union, according to the official.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said Dayan could pin down De Lima.

“His capture will tie up the loose ends and supply the missing links in the cases before the DOJ (Department of Justice),” Aguirre said in a statement. ■ With reports from Gabriel Cardinoza, Yolanda Sotelo, Gil C. Cabacungan and Marlon Ramos

Kerwin: Police... kilos of shabu. They distributed shabu in Leyte cities, such as Tacloban, Ormoc and Baybay, and Hilongos town.

He got out of NBP in 2010 and resumed his activities in 2011 in Leyte. He said he was shot and wounded by a rival, Tatang, who worked for a now retired policeman, Socrates Datahan.

Espinosa was jailed again in Ormoc City after he was ❰❰ 8

charged with illegal possession of firearms at the behest of Jaguar, who asked a policeman, Ramon Bolongaita, to file the case.

“Jaguar and I were quarreling because he had an affair with my wife,” he said.

In jail, he said he met Wengweng Rosal and went into drug dealing again with the help of Senior Insp. Rio Tan. He said he gave Tan P15,000 weekly and the same amount to now Supt.

Jose Estopin. He named two other Ormoc policemen who got P5,000 weekly each.

Police suppliers

Espinosa said Chief Insp.

Wilfredo Abordo and Dennis Torrefiel supplied him with shabu. He said he gave Abordo P12,000 weekly, later increased to P80,000 monthly in 2014. Espinosa said he gave the money to Abordo through Sean Bean www.canadianinquirer.net

Quintana.

He mentioned giving P6 million to Senior Supt. Hasher Dolina, then police regional director, through a Victor Espina.

Other police officers who received payoffs from 2013 to 2014 were Senior Insp. Chua (P15,000 weekly); Senior Insp.

Jabinez, then Albuera police chief (P15,000 weekly); Senior Insp. Camacho, who was also Albuera police chief (P15,000

weekly), SP03 Bituin, team leader of check point in Barangay Makabug (P8,000 weekly); Magamay, chief of the checkpoints (P10,000 weekly); Sir Arafol, also assigned at checkpoints (P5,000 weekly); Capt.

Angay-Angay and Sir Ludo of Ormoc police force (P15,000 weekly) Torrifiel (P10,000 weekly) and Macanas, city director of Ormoc, (P25,000 every Saturday). ■

FRIDAY DECEMBER 2, 2016

13

Rein in your Cabinet, watch your language, Ramos tells Duterte

BY TARRA QUISMUNDO Philippine Daily Inquirer FORMER PRESIDENT Fidel Ramos, the “No. 1 critic and supporter” of President Duterte, on Tuesday called on the latter to rein in his Cabinet, noting they were still disorganized nearly six months into his presidency.

In a frank assessment of the administration he had helped elect, Ramos also called on Mr. Duterte to broaden his perspective, clean up his language and show up as the President Filipinos deserve as their representative on the international stage.

Very well qualified

Benefit of the doubt

“We must have a comprehensive appreciation of the nation’s problems, and we must proceed on a broad front with everybody participating,” said Ramos, adding that every Filipino has something to contribute.

ing our Presidential leader,” he said.

Ramos reprised his dig at the President for missing the gala dinner and photo opportunity with leaders of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) at the recently held Leaders’ Summit in Peru this month, saying the President should always show up.

“I want you to know, I do not feel sleepy, I do not have jetlag, I don’t have a bad back and I don’t have loose bowel movement,” Ramos said at the start of the forum, in apparent reference to the President’s alibis for missing the important Apec events.

He showed up for the Inquirer MIM forum despite nursing a cough.

You just juggle the balls as they come in, toss them out without dropping any, to your cabinet, to your lawmakers, to lead conveners of the private sector.

“The President comes into the presidency very well qualified, and he has a highly educated and highly professional composition of the Cabinet, as well as presidential assistants at the sub-cabinet level, all the way down the line,” said Ramos at the hourlong Meet the Inquirer Multimedia (MIM) forum on Tuesday.

“However, I am seeing that they are not yet organized as one Philippine team, which it should be,” he said, even as he called on every Filipino to also do their part.

First 100 days

phasis on the campaign against drugs.

“Let us not have a tunnel vision at the level of the leadership, which is the President, the Vice President, members of the cabinet, leaders of the Senate and the House,” said Ramos, whose counsel the President is known to take well.

Ramos, who has lately criticized Mr. Duterte for a poor showing in his first 100 days in office and for missing important international engagements, said the administration should have a broader approach to governance, noting the em-

In the same breath, he called on the public to give the country’s new leaders “the benefit of the doubt.”

Asked about the President’s brash and usually foul language, Ramos said Mr. Duterte should eventually learn to live up to his title.

Learning curve

“This must not be seen as representative of our 102 million Filipinos. After all, Filipinos are among the best cultured in our part of the world in Asia-Pacific, in terms of being proficient in English, in terms of being Christians mainly,” said Ramos.

“Because the President must represent the whole nation, at a certain point, maybe after he has completed his learning curve, he must transform to be-

Juggling balls

“Anyway, for all of those little emergencies, I would have people to help me out in order that I can be present at a Leaders’ summit and be also there for the important photo of the leaders, because I represent the Philippines,” said Ramos, who led the Philippines’ hosting of the Apec summit in Manila in 1996.

He said the President should learn how to delegate his tasks without missing one.

“You just juggle the balls as they come in, toss them out without dropping any, to your cabinet, to your lawmakers, to lead conveners of the private sector. But whatever you do, pass it on to somebody else,” said the former President.

“You are still responsible and accountable because you are the team leader and the commander-in-chief,” said Ramos. ■

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PCO

Duterte admits spanking bottoms of female cops

BY DONA PAZZIBUGAN AND LEILA B. SALAVERRIA Philippine Daily Inquirer TOO MANY prohibitions in these “modern times” spoil the fun, President Duterte said on Saturday at the alumni homecoming of San Beda College of Law. He said he was the kind of person who liked to joke around even with members of his female security staff, whom he playfully spanks in the rear.

Mr. Duterte made the observation after saying in jest that San Beda should have allowed female students during his time so that he would have done better in class, especially if the women were pretty.

“The problem in these modern times and the living past, everything is prohibited,” he said in a speech before fellow San Beda law graduates.

He is a person who likes to joke around, according to the President.

“I like to joke around. The policewomen, I spank them on their bottoms in Malacañang if I’m ill-tempered. I get my fold-

er and tell them, ‘you’re part of the problem,’” he said, demonstrating how he spanks them with a folder.

Western mores have gone too far, he said. “Our lives now are no longer fun.”

But he said he was aware if sexual harassment was taking place.

Sought for comment last night, Commission on Human Rights Chair Jose Luis Martin Gascon said it was good that the President had “acknowledged that sexual harassment is taking place, and that therefore he knows it is wrong.”

“We have laws that impose penalties on perpetrators of the same. Unfortunately, while public officials, captains of industry and men on the street know about this—far too many continue to suffer from acts of misogyny and other forms of violence against women,” Gascon said.

“We hope that the Duterte government would take the lead in protecting women by enforcing this law,” he added. ■

Opinion

14

DECEMBER 2, 2016

FRIDAY

Mayors anxious over drug killings

BY TARRA QUISMUNDO Philippine Daily Inquirer CONCERNS OVER the increasing number of unsolved drugrelated killings were raised on Thursday during a meeting between Metro Manila mayors and Interior Secretary Mike Sueno.

Pateros Mayor Miguel “Ike” Ponce III observed during the Metro Manila Council meeting that since July, 37 drug suspects have been killed by the “bonnet gang” in his municipality without any of the perpetrators being arrested.

According to him, this has discouraged those who earlier surrendered under “Oplan Tokhang” as shown by the drop in the weekly Zumba attendance from around 300 to barely 10. Surrenderers are required

to attend the Zumba sessions as part of their rehabilitation.

“This is a reality that I want to bring up with Secretary Sueno and especially addressed to our police force. There are no more [drug] surrenderers; they no longer want to participate in rehabilitation programs because they are afraid,” Ponce said.

He added that most of his constituents believed that policemen were behind the killings. “If these are carried out by vigilantes, we should arrest them. At the end of the day, we remain answerable to our constituents and they are looking for answers [to] why the killings continue.”

Mandaluyong City Mayor Carmelita Abalos agreed with Ponce, citing a case in which tandem-riding assailants shot someone near a police car but

solid waste and traffic management measures.

Sueno afterward told reporters that he would bring up the mayors’ concerns over drugrelated killings with Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa.

However, he downplayed the issue, saying that Tokhang surrenderers who were sub-

sequently killed were isolated cases. “It’s not a problem in all cities, just two or three, and we are trying to solve it,” he said.

Manila City administrator Ericson Alcovendaz, who represented Mayor Joseph Estrada, said he agreed with other mayors that the vigilante-style killings were diminishing the credibility of the government’s war against drugs.

“That’s the directive of Mayor Erap. We should put an end to the drug menace but not resort to shortcuts,” Alcovendaz told reporters.

Based on the Inquirer’s “Kill List,” a total of 1,639 people have died in the government’s ongoing war on drugs as of 12 p.m., Nov. 22. The figure includes those killed in legitimate police operations as well as those targeted by suspected vigilantes. ■

legislator has been so subjected to In his book titled “Defacement,” tine and legitimate sexual relationpublic humiliation with regard to the anthropologist Michael Tauss- ships? Furthermore, how many of his or her sexual life in the course ig uses the term “defacement” to them can honestly claim to know of a congressional hearing that is refer to this transgressive act. He the exact provenance of every peso being held supposedly in aid of leg- writes: “When the human body, that comes their way during elecislation. a nation’s flag, money, or a public tion time?

I sat transfixed before the TV set statue is defaced, a strange surplus Indeed, this entire effort could watching this 7-hour spectacle. In of negative energy is likely to be backfire. As Taussig insightfully horror and disbelief, I turned off aroused from within the defaced reminds us: “For are not shared the set a couple of times, only to thing itself. It is now in a state of secrets the basis of our social instifind myself switching it back on. desecration, the closest many of tutions, the workplace, the market, I guess I was waiting for a sober us are going to get to the sacred in the family, and the state? Is not voice, possibly that of a woman this modern world.” In the relent- such public secrecy the most interor of an enlightened man, to put a less unmasking that has been done esting, the most powerful, the most stop at some point to the carnival to Sen. Leila de Lima, I would argue mischievous and ubiquitous form of unmasking that of socially active had taken hold of knowledge there the predominantly is?”

Neither do I believe that Senator De Lima personally male lawmakers in To put it more knew Kerwin Espinosa and that she would be crazy enough to that hearing. bluntly, do we rehave a souvenir photo taken with him if she knew he was a drug Since the lady ally want to know dealer. senator has prewhat goes on in viously admitted the bedrooms of that she did have an affair with that what is being defaced is not our lawmakers and government ofher driver-bodyguard Ronnie Day- just the person but also the entire ficials? Do we really care to know an—and the latter has confirmed institution to which she has been how, exactly, our politicians raise this—was it still necessary for the elected. the money they need to finance our committee to inquire, in aid of legOne may ask: What is to be insanely expensive elections? I am islation, into the intensity of that gained from exposing the inner- quite certain that, even if expected, relationship? Yet the salacious line most private lives of our lawmak- the revelations would horrify all of of questioning went on unabated. ers? Don’t we all know that almost us, and would make us even more “Did you sleep in the same room as everyone of our leaders—those cynical than we already are about the senator?” asked one wide-eyed who make decisions in our name, government, democracy, and the congressman. “What did you call and who speak in the name of the rule of law. each other?” another lawmaker state—have secrets? How many In the shadow of these public chimed in. “Would you say your of the honorable legislators who secrets, I was ready to believe the love was true, pure, and strong?” feasted on the private life that De worst about Senator De Lima. But, inquired yet another in a melodra- Lima and Dayan shared can hon- having closely followed the testimatic tone. estly claim to have had only pris- monies of Dayan at the House and

of the confessed drug “distributor” Kerwin Espinosa at the Senate, I can now say that I do not believe that Senator De Lima had knowingly used Dayan as her collector of campaign contributions from drug dealers. It looks more likely that Dayan had exploited and monetized his personal connection with her for his own selfish interests. I even doubt if this undeserving man ever had any real affection for the woman he is now sacrificing at the altar of her enemies.

Neither do I believe that Senator De Lima personally knew Kerwin Espinosa and that she would be crazy enough to have a souvenir photo taken with him if she knew he was a drug dealer. This fellow is an obvious criminal, and I am appalled that he is being allowed to freely defame the honor of a senator in what is clearly a public trial.

Someone is undoubtedly behind this badly written script, someone who seeks to destroy Senator De Lima because she has become emblematic of everything that the Aquino administration stood for.

To destroy her is to deface the legacy of that administration.

Indeed, as Taussig tells us in a parting shot, so many instances of political defacement “only occur after the regime has, as we say, fallen, emerging from the vantage point of the security provided by another strong state.” ■

JOJO LAMARIA / PNA`

the lawmen did not go after the criminals.

“How can we bring back the trust of surrenderers? They are willing to change but they need protection,” Abalos said.

The Metro mayors then decided to hold a closed-door session to freely discuss the issue with Sueno. Originally, the meeting was called to discuss

PUBLIC LIVES

Solons’ sex life

By Randy David Philippine Daily Inquirer Do lawmakers have a sexual life? If so, why would they inquire into the details of another person’s sexual life in the course of their legislative function? Do lawmakers have a sexual life? Presumably, they do, and they ought to know that this is a private matter. If so, why would they inquire into the details of another person’s sexual life in the course of the performance of their legislative function? I suppose the quick answer would be: Because if that person happens to be a public official, her sexual life could have a bearing on her behavior as an officer of the state, and therefore it becomes a valid subject of public inquiry.

This question, as the whole nation knows, pertains to the case being built against a sitting senator—Leila de Lima, a former justice secretary and a former head of the Commission on Human Rights.

It is usual to hear politicians denounce one another in congressional sessions. We could say it is part of the sport of politics. But, the other day, members of the House of Representatives crossed a line.

I’m not sure what to call it; it’s not merely the boundary between the public and the private, or the decent and the indecent. It is more than that. I do not recall that any

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Opinion

FRIDAY DECEMBER 2, 2016

15

LOOKING BACK

Exciting time for art historians

By Ambeth R. Ocampo Philippine Daily Inquirer During the evening sale at Sotheby’s Hong Kong on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2013, an early version of Juan Luna’s iconic “España y Filipinas” went under the hammer and was sold for $3.3 million, or roughly P130 million at the then prevailing exchange rate. It is the highest price paid on record for a work by the 19th-century Filipino artist since the Philippines’ Government Service and Insurance System acquired “Parisian Life” at Christie’s Hong Kong in 2002 for P45 million.

Before their public appearance and sale at auction abroad, these two paintings were considered by scholars “unlocated,” with other works believed lost or destroyed during the Battle for Manila in 1945.

The version of “España y Filipinas” sold in 2013 was known to Filipino art historians only from a black-and-white illustration in the Barcelona magazine “La Ilustración Artistica” of Dec. 13,

1886, and “Parisian Life” from an century masters like Juan Luna but the greater challenge is posed album of black-and-white pho- and Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo by authentic 19th-century Spantographs taken before the war by that are often compared to blue- ish and French paintings that are the gentleman-scholar Alfonso T. chip stocks in the stock market. sometimes passed off as, or atOngpin, misattributed in the most Demand has encouraged long- tributed to be, works by Luna. consulted Luna book by Santiago lost paintings to emerge from priA few years ago a Swiss aucPilar as the “Luis Araneta Photo vate collections in Manila, while tion house sought my opinion File.” A good visual memory is others have been sourced from on what appeared to be a copy necessary for the art historian abroad. But in the case of Luna, of Velasquez’s “Esopo” by Luna. who tries to track down the histo- the few undoubtedly authentic It even had a dedication slightly ries of, and in, works of art. ones have appeared together with obscured by the frame. Months In the past few years, art his- a constant stream of fakes. after the painting was sold in tory and museum Geneva, a hithstudies have beerto unknown In the past few years, art history and museum studies come attractive photograph of have become attractive academic disciplines due to the frenzied academic disciLuna appeared state of the Philippine art market today [...]. plines due to the on Facebook that frenzied state of was sourced from the Philippine art an album of phomarket today, which is buoyed by Authentication of Luna paint- tographs of 19th-century artists much liquidity (or money laun- ings is primarily based on a in their Paris studios in the Frick dering), social climbing, scarcity knowledge of the artist’s extant Collection in New York. This of works by the masters, and peo- work from: actual paintings in photograph of Luna in his stuple buying names instead of pic- private collections in Manila as dio shows the “Esopo” hanging tures. While most of the record well as public collections (Na- on the wall together with other prices at auction go for contem- tional Museum, Lopez Museum paintings that will hopefully turn porary or modern Philippine art and Ayala Museum), photo- up in the future. This example today, there has been a constant graphs, and historical references. underscores the need for condemand for works by old masters Laboratory analysis of pigment tinuing updating and revision of like Fabian de la Rosa and Fer- and canvas has made it harder for what we know of Luna’s life and nando Amorsolo, as well as 19th- 20th-century forgeries to pass, work.

The exciting detective work that went into the background of Luna’s “España y Filipinas” sold at auction in 2013 resulted in a detailed documentary history suggesting that there are five (or even six) paintings on the same subject by him. Three of these are identical, requiring the determination of the studies and final work as compared with later copies. Fortunately, the earliest known version of “España y Filipinas” can be viewed at the National Gallery of Singapore and compared with versions in Manila and Cadiz.

Contrary to popular belief, Luna sometimes made copies or multiples of his paintings. For example, aside from his huge 1884 canvas “Spoliarium” now preserved in the National Museum of the Philippines, he made two smaller copies—one in a private collection in Manila, and the other believed to have been acquired by a Russian nobleman and unlocated to this day.

It’s an exciting time to be an art historian these days. ■

AT LARGE

What if De Lima were a man?

By Rina Jimenez-David Philippine Daily Inquirer They thought they were being so clever. Congressmen on Thursday could hardly keep a straight face as they zeroed in on the “love life” shared by Sen. Leila de Lima and her former driver/messenger/boyfriend Ronnie Dayan.

Though by Dayan’s own account the liaison had long been over, our honorable lawmakers persisted in digging up the minutiae of the relationship, including such details as to whether they ever shared the same room, much less the same bed (duh!), their pet names for each other, and whether and when their passions heated up and cooled as time wore on. You’d think the lawmakers were out to outdo the most fanatic followers of the AlDub or JaDine love teams. With one important distinction: Movie/TV fans have never speculated on the salacious details of their idols’ love life. Senators and their drivers, it seems, are much more

vulnerable than movie stars. Or opening the door to charges that ever a man’s hypermasculinity to put it another way, stars’ fol- he had an axe to grind against the were to be the subject of a conlowers are models of rectitude senator. It was entertaining nev- gressional inquiry, chances are when contrasted with members ertheless. he would be extolled as a model of Congress who behave, at least Now I wonder how the hearing of manhood, or else excused and during the hearing purportedly would have proceeded if the per- forgiven as being simply human. on the drug trade within the na- sonality in question were a male The frailty of a man? tional penitentiary, with unbe- senator, or one of the male memPlease note that among the lievable crassness. bers of Congress, or even our ma- more fiery interrogators of DayAbetted by their audience who cho President. In the first place, an regarding his extra-employgreeted each titillating admis- would there even have been a ment activities was a congresssion with snickman who has ers, if not outright “starred” in an laughter, the lawunderground sex Men fooling around, as has so often been pointed out but makers insisted video with an acwhich still bears repeating, is not only considered “normal” in on ferreting out tress, and whose Philippine society but is actually encouraged and envied. the smallest dewife, a former tail of the relastarlet, committionship. At one point, admitting hearing? Or a hearing where the ted suicide amid charges that she he had a falling out with De Lima private proclivities of the person had been subjected to domestic because she had supposedly in question figured so promi- violence and her children emofallen for the charms of another nently? tionally distanced from her. member of her security detail, Men fooling around, as has so And when De Lima publicly Dayan let slip that he had slapped often been pointed out but which admitted to her relationship with the senator “slightly,” sending still bears repeating, is not only Dayan, Justice Secretary Vitaliahis interrogators and audience considered “normal” in Philip- no Aguirre immediately pounced tittering. Never mind that the pine society but is actually en- on this piece of information as fugitive driver had just admitted couraged and envied—a sign of “proof” of her complicity in the to violating the law against vio- real manhood, bolstering a man’s drug trade in the national prison lence against women, as well as credentials and masculinity. If (because Dayan was said to be a

www.canadianinquirer.net

courier of drug payoffs), while another lawyer said De Lima could be disbarred, allegedly for “immorality” and for “concubinage.”

I am no lawyer, but even I know that concubinage is a ground for legal separation on the part of the husband, while the wife can be haled to court on the flimsier ground of adultery.

To be guilty of concubinage, a man must have brought his mistress or girlfriend to the conjugal home or lived with her in “scandalous circumstances.” A woman is considered guilty of adultery just for having sex with a man other than her husband, although women lawyers say that for the charges to stick, she must almost literally be caught with the man doing the deed itself.

If anyone is to be charged with concubinage, it might just have to be Dayan, but a lawyer has said that if his wife knew of the affair and consented to it, then even he and his partner would be absolved. ■

16

DECEMBER 2, 2016

FRIDAY

Canada News Trudeau says yes to contested Trans-Mountain pipeline, maintains climate targets

BY BRUCE CHEADLE The Canadian Press OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau approved two major oil pipeline expansions Tuesday, including the deeply controversial Trans Mountain line through suburban Vancouver, while maintaining his government remains on course to meet its international climate commitments.

The announcement ends the new Liberal government’s year-long high wire act seeking to balance environmental stewardship and expansion of Canada’s resource economy.

“We are under no illusions that the decision we made today will be bitterly disputed by a number of people across the country who would rather we had made another decision,” Trudeau — flanked by a number of his senior cabinet ministers — told a news conference in Ottawa.

“We took this decision today because we believe it is in the best interests of Canada and Canadians.”

The Liberals have been setting the stage for pipeline approvals for months, highlighting environmental policy moves like a national carbon price while making the case that the jobs, economic boost and government revenues from fossil fuel exports are critical to the transformation to a lowcarbon future.

It’s been a tough sell.

Kinder Morgan’s Trans

Mountain expansion has be- the stalled Northern Gateway come a lightning rod for climate pipeline across northwestern protests from coast to coast, B.C. and impose a promised oil with opponents from among tanker ban on the northwest Trudeau’s own caucus of Lib- Pacific coast. eral MPs and his political ally, But the prime minister also Vancouver Mayor Gregor Rob- left the door open to more ertson. pipeline approvals, saying each Climate campaigners and in- project would be examined on digenous groups immediately its merits. attacked the government deThe “vital element,” said cision as a betrayal, while B.C. Trudeau, is the climate leadEnvironment Minister Mary ership of Alberta’s NDP govPolak issued an anodyne state- ernment, which has imposed ment noting the province’s own a 100-million-tonne cap on environmental assessment of emission increases from the oil Trans Mountain continues. patch.

The fight overshadowed quiTrudeau said the Kinder eter deliberations about En- Morgan approval, which inbridge’s proposed replacement cludes 157 binding conditions of Line 3, a half-century-old set out by the National Energy pipeline from Alberta to the Board, would create 15,000 new Conservatives, however, imUnited States that Trudeau middle-class jobs. mediately accused the governapproved Tuesday, effectively “And as long as Kinder Mor- ment of providing less than half doubling its current working gan respects the stringent a loaf. capacity. conditions put forward by the Interim Leader Rona AmBetween the Trans Mountain National Energy Board, this brose said the Liberals should and Line 3 expansions, the Lib- project will get built — because have left Northern Gateway erals have approved the export it’s in the national interest of “on the table” and must now of almost a milactively prolion additional mote the other barrels of oil per approved lines, day — and the particularly the production of beIt means that we can diversify our beleaguered tween 23 and 28 market, we can get our product to Trans Mountain million tonnes China and we can get more money expansion. of additional for our product and we can enhance “I see very greenhouse gasour economic independence not only little prospect, es annually. Line in Alberta but all of Canada. politically speak3 can actually ing, that this handle another pipeline will get 155,000 barrels built,” Ambrose per day, but Enbridge would Canadians, because we need to said. have to apply for a new permit. get our resources to market in Alberta’s NDP premier RaThe Liberals hoped to leaven safe, responsible ways, and that chel Notley, who met Trudeau those numbers with Tuesday’s is exactly what we’re going to following the announcement, decision to permanently shelve do,” he said. lauded the prime minister

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ART BABYCH / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

for his “extraordinary leadership” — crediting the Liberals for building the economy and moving forward aggressively on the environment while “understanding that you can do both at the same time.”

Notley called the Kinder Morgan approval “very good news for Albertans” at a difficult time for the province.

“It means that we can diversify our market, we can get our product to China and we can get more money for our product and we can enhance our economic independence not only in Alberta but all of Canada,” she said.

However, Tom Mulcair, leader of the federal New Democrats, said Trudeau “betrayed” British Columbians by breaking his “solemn promise” to ❱❱ PAGE 33 Trudeau says

17

FRIDAY DECEMBER 2, 2016

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18

Canada News

DECEMBER 2, 2016

Canada Revenue Agency takes too long to resolve tax objections, says audit

BY JORDAN PRESS The Canadian Press OTTAWA — The slow speed of government decisions, which can take months or years, costs Canadians time and money to resolve tax disputes and prevents Canadian cars from being as safe as they can be, the federal auditor general says.

In reviews of the Canada Revenue Agency and Transport Canada, auditor general Michael Ferguson said long delivery and decision times — especially in an era of technological advances and instant communications _fail to meet the public’s expectations.

Ferguson’s message in both cases was similar: Departments measure timely decisions against their internal processes, not what might be timely for the taxpayers they serve.

Both departments agreed with the recommendations in the audits, vowing to craft new policies, strategies, internal processes and reporting standards to show they have heeded Ferguson’s calls.

Ferguson’s auditors found that the revenue agency often leaves taxpayers in the dark about how long it will take to handle an income tax objection, people wait months to hear from the agency after formally objecting to tax assessments and appeals officers can wait more than a year when they request help from other areas of the agency.

The audit said it takes the taxman an average of 263 days to process an objection from an individual or corporation and 1,503 days for so-called group cases, that can include suspected tax evaders.

Auditors found that over the last 10 fiscal years, the inventory of outstanding cases grew by 171 per cent, while the number of employees dedicated to resolving them grew by only 14 per cent.

The report warned that the inventory of appeals will grow unless more resources are put towards handling cases. The backlog of cases that were yet to

No way to tell if border plan is helping security, trade or travellers: auditor

BY JIM BRONSKILL The Canadian Press

Auditor General Michael Ferguson.

PHOTO COURTESY OF OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL

be resolved as of March 31 represented more than $18 billion in federal taxes, the audit said.

“It is critical for government departments to understand that their services need to be built around citizens, not process — or they can expect that those services will be disrupted,” Ferguson wrote in his message to parliamentarians.

Auditors also raised questions about the assessment process, calculating that tax filers were successful in their appeals 65 per cent of the time.

Of the 174,158 objections that were reviewed — excluding those the agency dismissed — $6.1 billion out of a total of $11.6 billion in dispute were allowed to taxpayers, with most of the amounts claimed allowed in full. During the five-year period ending March 31, the CRA cancelled almost $1.1 billion in penalties and interest related to the objections, the audit said.

In a separate review of Transport Canada, auditors concluded the department did an adequate job of oversight on recalls and safety defects, but took 10 years or more to make decisions on new regulations that meant people were not able to access new safety features that could keep them as safe as possible.

Departmental research over the last five years identified problems with the built-in seat anchors that hold car seats in place for children over 30 ki-

lograms. Officials have shared their findings with car manufacturers, but have yet to propose new regulations or issue an advisory to parents about extra safety measures to prevent the anchors from failing.

“The department indicated to us that introducing a uniqueto-Canada requirement for anchorage strength in passenger vehicles would be detrimental to trade,” the audit says.

In another part of the report, auditors write that Transport Canada generally failed to consult consumer associations, safety advocates, parts suppliers and police. The result is that car manufacturers “may have exercised disproportionate influence” over, or helped delay regulatory changes, auditors write.

Auditors found the department frequently made regulatory changes following decisions from its American counterpart. Auditors say this process is problematic, because American standards may not align with unique Canadian driving issues like the climate and more variable hours of daylight.

In other cases, Transport Canada announced new standards with little data to support them — for example, the Liberal decision to make back-up cameras mandatory on new cars.

The audit cites department officials as saying there is “limited data and safety benefits” associated with the devices. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

FRIDAY

border plan call for spending of more than $1.1 billion between 2012-13 and 2017-18. About $585 million had been spent as OTTAWA — The federal spend- of the end of March. ing watchdog says the govFederal agencies did not have ernment has no way of telling reliable means of gauging perwhether its billion-dollar bor- formance for 17 of 19 projects der plan is improving security intended to beef up border seor helping to speed the flow of curity, Ferguson said. goods and people between CanFor instance, agencies have ada and the United States. spent more than $82 million While departments and on making it easier to share agencies completed many com- immigration-related informamitments of the high-profile tion with the U.S., but there Beyond the Border plan, they was no reporting to show it faced numerous challenges and had improved decision-making lacked the means to measure on who should be allowed into results, auditor general Mi- Canada. chael Ferguson said in a report Another project allows comreleased Tuesmercial traders day. and importers In addition, he to electronically found the govsubmit all cusernment’s own Government toms and reguevaluation, made exists to do latory informapublic in Septhings for tion through a tember, painted people. So single window. an “incomplete they need to But the Canada and inaccurate” put the focus Border Services picture. on those Agency could The Canadaresults for not demonstrate U.S. Beyond the people. whether it was Border initiative reducing costs or was unfurled in simplifying borDecember 2011 der processes. to help protect Transport the continent from terrorist Canada is leading the instalthreats while ensuring the ef- lation of technology at several ficient passage of travellers and high-priority land crossings to shipments across the 49th par- provide wait times that could allel. help people make decisions The issues are crucial, as last about when and where to cross year close to $700 billion in the border. However, Ferguson goods traversed the border and said, the department had not people made nearly 150 million measured the benefits of six exland crossings, with millions isting installations in place for more travelling by air or water, years.

Ferguson said.

The auditor general noted He urged a number of federal several projects — including agencies to develop indicators an effort to track and share inso they can fully assess efforts formation about when people involving everything from leave Canada — are behind checked baggage screening to schedule. trusted-trader programs.

The government’s evaluation “Government exists to do of the Beyond the Border initiathings for people,” Ferguson tive did not provide a complete told a news conference. “So view of the progress of projects, they need to put the focus on he added. Notably, it neglected those results for people.” to report on the results of pilot The auditor general said the projects or mention that some 34 projects that make up the were postponed or shelved. ■

19

FRIDAY DECEMBER 2, 2016

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20

World News

DECEMBER 2, 2016

FRIDAY

Trump tapping Washington, Wall Street veterans for top jobs

BY ANNE D’INNOCENZIO The Associated Press WASHINGTON — Presidentelect Donald Trump is enlisting a trio of nominees with deep ties to Washington and Wall Street to fill out his Cabinet, including former Goldman Sachs executive Steven Mnuchin as secretary of the Treasury Department.

On Tuesday, Trump also chose Georgia Rep. Tom Price to oversee the nation’s health care system, picking a fierce “Obamacare” critic who has championed efforts to privatize Medicare. And he selected another veteran Republican, Elaine Chao, a former labour secretary and the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, to lead the Department of Transportation.

Mnuchin’s official announcement was expected as early as Wednesday, according to a person familiar with the decision who insisted on anonymity in order to confirm the pick ahead of time.

Mnuchin, 53, led Trump’s finance operations during the presidential campaign and become close with the presidentelect and his family. But he has no government experience, which could prove a hurdle in navigating the tricky politics of Washington.

If confirmed by the Senate, Mnuchin would play a central role in shaping Trump’s tax policies and infrastructure plans.

He would also lead an agency tasked with implementing international economic sanctions.

Mnuchin is expected to be joined on Trump’s senior economic team by another financier, Wilbur Ross. The billionaire investor is considered the

“king of bankruptcy” for buying beaten-down companies with the potential to deliver profits.

Trump spent much of Tuesday in his Manhattan skyscraper, racing through meetings with prospective administration hires as high-profile vacancies remain — none bigger than secretary of state. He emerged in the evening for a private dinner with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who is on the shortlist for the nation’s chief diplomat.

A transition official said the president-elect and Vice-President-elect Mike Pence will travel to Indiana on Thursday for an event with Carrier, the air conditioning company.

During the campaign, Trump repeatedly used the news of Carrier’s plans to move some business to Mexico as criticism of Democratic trade policies. Carrier tweeted, “We are pleased to have reached a deal with President-elect Trump & VP-elect Pence to keep close to 1,000 jobs in Indy.”

Price, picked to lead the Department of Health and Human Services after more than a decade in Congress, helped craft House Speaker Paul Ryan’s plan to privatize Medicare — a position Trump opposed in the campaign.

Price’s selection raised questions about the incoming president’s commitment to Medicare, among other popular entitlement programs he repeatedly vowed to preserve before the election. The Georgia congressman led GOP efforts on Capitol Hill to transform Medicare into a voucher-like system, a change that if enacted, would likely dramatically reduce government spending on the health care program that serves an esti-

mated 57 million people.

Trump did not address Price’s position on Medicare in a statement released by his transition team. The team did not respond to subsequent questions about it.

“Chairman Price, a renowned physician, has earned a reputation for being a tireless problem solver and the go-to expert on health care policy, making him the ideal choice to serve in this capacity,” Trump said. “He is exceptionally qualified to shepherd our commitment to repeal and replace Obamacare and bring affordable and accessible health care to every American.”

Trump, in a 2015 interview promoted on his campaign website, pledged not to cut expensive entitlement programs that Republicans have fought for years to cut to help reduce the federal deficit.

“I’m not going to cut Social Security like every other Republican. And I’m not going to cut Medicare or Medicaid. Every other Republican’s going to cut,” Trump told the Daily Signal.

He later changed his mind on Medicaid, embracing the GOP concept of turning the program over to the states with a fixed amount of federal “block grant” funding.

Like any Cabinet official, Price would carry out the wishes of the president. And a sweeping Medicare initiative would have to go through Congress with some Democratic support, which would be unlikely.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders charged that Price “has a long history of wanting to do exactly the opposite of what Trump campaigned on.”

Like Price, Elaine Chao is well-known in Washington. She was the first Asian-American

DONALD TRUMP / FACEBOOK

woman to serve in a president’s Cabinet, as labour secretary under George W. Bush.

Her record in that post suggests she would bring a light hand to safety enforcement as transportation secretary.

Under Chao at Labor, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration didn’t issue a single significant new safety regulation for four years. Mine safety inspectors were cut and inspections reduced.

Whether it’s integrating drones into the national airspace, deploying self-driving cars or “some other new technology, she’s not going to be especially inclined to second guess the industry when they say that this will be safe,” said Thomas McGarity, a University of Texas law professor and author of “Freedom to Harm,” a book about the Labor Department that includes Chao’s tenure.

Mnuchin, Price and Chao would require Senate confirmation.

The president-elect summoned Romney for dinner Tuesday night to discuss the secretary of state job for a second time. He also met with Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, having

met with former CIA director David Petraeus the day before.

After his meeting, Corker told reporters, “The world needs to know that the secretary of state is someone who speaks fully for the president,” a possible jab at Romney, who aggressively opposed Trump’s candidacy.

Transition aides said Trump was likely at least a few days away from a decision.

Even as he weighed crucial Cabinet decisions, Trump appeared distracted by outside issues — or eager to create distractions himself. He tweeted that “nobody should be allowed to burn the American flag.”

He warned that those who do should face “perhaps loss of citizenship or year in jail!”

Trump offered no context for his message. The Supreme Court has ruled that flag burning is protected by the First Amendment, and Republican House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Tuesday he doesn’t support Trump’s approach.

“I support the First Amendment,” he said. ■ AP writers Catherine Lucey and Jonathan Lemire in New York and Joan Lowry and Erica Werner in Washington contributed to this report.

Iran’s security forces kill IS ringleader at border PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY TEHRAN — The Iranian Intelligence Ministry announced that a ringleader of the Islamic State (IS) has been killed at the border as he tried to enter the coun-

try, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Tuesday.

The person, known as Abu Ayesheh Kurdi, wanted to travel to the capital Tehran but was killed by the Iranian security forces at one of the country’s borders, Iranian Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi was

quoted as saying.

Alavi said that the Iranian security forces are fully prepared to identify and confront any suicide bomber and terrorist who seeks to carry out operations inside Iran.

The Iranian minister did not specify where and when the IS www.canadianinquirer.net

ringleader was killed.

Last Tuesday, Iranian Deputy Interior Minister Hossein Zolfaqari announced that a terrorist cell was dismantled in the eastern parts of Iran.

“A terrorist team was disbanded by the Intelligence Ministry in Eastern Iran,” Zol-

faqari said, adding that “the team had four members, one of whom was killed and three others were arrested”.

Zolfaqari said that the terrorists were carrying ammunition and explosives that were discovered and seized by the security forces. ■

21

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World News

DECEMBER 2, 2016

FRIDAY

Wildfires scorch tourist area in Tennessee; thousands flee

BY STEVE MEGARGEE AND JONATHAN MATTISE The Associated Press GATLINBURG, TENN. — Wildfires fueled by high winds roared through parts of the Great Smoky Mountains, burning the doorstep of the Dollywood theme park, destroying a resort and chasing thousands of people from their homes.

National Guard troops arrived Tuesday to help overwhelmed firefighters, and Mother Nature provided a little relief as the winds calmed and rain fell in some areas. Forecasters said it would not be enough to end the relentless drought that has spread across the South and set the stage over the past few weeks for wildfires in Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina.

Linda Monholland, who was working at Park View Inn in Gatlinburg, said it was about 9 p.m. Monday when she left her workplace with about five other people. Surrounded by flames the whole way, they walked for about 20 minutes to a trolley to evacuate.

“There was fire everywhere.

It was like we were in hell.

Hell opened up,” said Monholland, who was staying Tuesday at Rocky Top Sports World, an 80-acre sports facility that has been turned into a shelter.

“Walking through hell, that’s what it was. I can’t believe it. I never want to see something like that again in my life, ever.”

Photos of the popular tourist area showed scorched cars and buildings, and soot-covered debris littered across roads in the

Gatlinburg area. A smoky haze hung in the air, obscuring picturesque views of mountains in the fall, awash in trees with leaves of red, yellow and gold.

The latest wildfires grew Monday night when wind high winds blew trees onto power lines, sparking new fires and spreading embers over long distances, officials said.

“There were times last night that we had wind gusts in excess of 87 miles an hour. That is hurricane force. That is nowhere to be when trying to fight a fire,” Gatlinburg Fire Chief Greg Miller said at a news conference Tuesday.

Hundreds of homes and other buildings, including a 16-story hotel, were damaged or destroyed.

Emergency officials ordered evacuations in downtown Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge and in other areas of Sevier County near the Great Smoky Mountains. About 14,000 residents and visitors were evacuated from Gatlinburg alone.

About 1,200 people took shelter at the Gatlinburg Community Center and the Rocky Top Sports Park, and several other shelters opened. TV broadcasts showed residents streaming out of town just as rain started to wet roads.

At least a dozen people were taken to hospitals, including some with burns. No deaths were reported and officials said they had not received any reports of missing people.

Evacuees dodged fire on foot and in cars to reach shelters.

At about 9:30 p.m. Monday, Tammy Dillon had just gotten

NATIONAL GUARD / FACEBOOK

home from work when police banged on her door and told her to get out.

Dillon said she drove through a fiery scene to get to Rocky Top Sports World, where she spent the night in a car and used the shelter for the bathroom.

“We drove through flames, over hot embers in the road. It was awful,” Dillon said.

In downtown Gatlinburg, workers at Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies had to flee because of the wildfires and left behind more than 10,000 fish and other animals. Police escorted a team of marine biologists and life support experts back into the aquarium Tuesday morning, and the animals were doing fine, Ripley’s said in a news release.

Based on preliminary surveys, the Westgate Smoky Mountain Resort & Spa in Gatlinburg “is likely entirely gone,” the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said in a news release. The agency had previously said it had reports that the Ober Gatlinburg

amusement park and ski area had been destroyed as well, but later said resort officials had checked in and said the property was fine.

Officials with Dollywood, the amusement park named after country music icon Dolly Parton, said the theme park wasn’t damaged, but more than a dozen cabins operated by the park had been.

Dollywood suspended park operations at least through Wednesday. Its DreamMore resort will be open on a limited basis as a shelter and for registered guests.

Just hours before the fires spread, the singer appeared in a 30-second video released by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, telling people to avoid burning leaves and parking vehicles on dry grass, and warning that even a campfire can spark a wildfire.

Parton is a native of Sevier County, which includes both Gatlinburg and nearby Pigeon Forge.

In the mid-1980s, Parton

partnered with the Herschend family who ran the park, then known as Silver Dollar City. It opened under the new name of Dollywood in 1986.

Parton said she’s heartbroken over the fires.

“I am praying for all the families affected by the fire and the firefighters who are working so hard to keep everyone safe,” Parton said in a statement. “It is a blessing that my Dollywood theme park, the DreamMore Resort and so many businesses in Pigeon Forge have been spared.”

Rain showers ended in the Gatlinburg area about 8 a.m.

Tuesday, said National Weather Service meteorologist Sam Roberts. No more meaningful rainfall was expected until about midnight Tuesday, and would last through Wednesday.

After weeks of punishing drought, any rain should be soaked up quickly, forecasters said. Rainfall amounts have been 10 to 15 inches below normal during the past three months in many parts of the South.

“I think we racked up deficits that are going to be too much to overcome with just one storm system,” said Mark Svoboda, director of the National Drought Mitigation Center in Lincoln, Nebraska. ■ Mattise reported from Nashville. Associated Press writers Rebecca Yonker and Beth Campbell in Louisville, Kentucky; Jeff Amy in Jackson, Mississippi; Jack Jones in Columbia, South Carolina; and Bill Fuller in New Orleans contributed to this report.

S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Statement concerning City of Richmond’s response to recent distribution of racist material VANCOUVER — S.U.C.C.E.S.S. has issued the following statement concerning City of Richmond’s response to recent distribution of racist material: “S.U.C.C.E.S.S. echoes Mayor Malcolm Brodie’s condemnation of the racist material that was distributed in Richmond last Thursday. These statements are in themselves a form of violence, primarilydirected towards newcomers, immi-

grant communities and people of colour, but are hurtful to the overall community of Richmond.

S.U.C.C.E.S.S., its allies and partners further denounce these statements, and are deeply concerned about a growing anti-immigrant sentiment throughout British Columbia, partly fed by racistcommentary around the rising cost of housing in Vancouver, and now

surfacing in Richmond through hateful propaganda.

British Columbia has one of the highest levels of public support for multiculturalism in Canada. S.U.C.C.E.S.S. appeals to all British Columbians to remain proud, united and vigilant in promoting ourprovince’s shared values.

S.U.C.C.E.S.S. is planning a forum in the new year focused on addressing anti-immigrant www.canadianinquirer.net

sentiment and facilitating dialogue and solutions towards greater social cohesion for newcomers, immigrantsand long-time residents.

S.U.C.C.E.S.S. is urging newcomers and immigrants who are feeling emotional distress as a result of experiencing or witnessing racism to contact S.U.C.C.E.S.S.’ counselling services and/or the Chinese Help Line. ■

Established in 1973, S.U.C.C.E.S.S. is one of the biggest social service agencies in British Columbia. It is a charitable organization providing services in settlement, language training, employment,family and youth counseling, business and economic development, seniors care, housing and community development. For more details, please visit: www.success. bc.ca.

Community News

FRIDAY DECEMBER 2, 2016

23

Canada Filipino youths find role to follow the spirit of Bonifacio

BY ARTEMIO BORBA TORONTO — On November 20, 2016, a group of Filipino youth humbly stepped forward to take part in forming a national democratic organization in Canada.

Chanting in the upbeat beat of progressive “Song of Freedom,” some 150 delegates from across the country convened for Anakbayan-Canada’s founding congress. “(I)t shows that Filipino youth are ready to serve our communities here in Canada and the Philippines to fight for genuine change and lasting peace for our people,” said Sarah Salise from Hamilton. Salise had helped gather other youths to come to New College, University of Toronto.

The congress opened with a flag ceremony that featured delegates from Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. Participants also included youth from cities of Hamilton, Mississauga and Peterborough, while international guests were from Jersey City, NJ and Utrecht, the Netherlands.

In his message from the Netherlands, Prof. Jose Ma. Sison expressed congratulations to the organizers and delegates. “We deem it necessary and appropriate that on this occasion we consider the role of the youth in the ever worsening crisis of the world capitalist system,” he said in a statement.

Sison is the exiled Filipino revolutionary and founding chairperson of the seminal Filipino youth organization Kabataang Makabayan of the 60s, from which Anakbayan traces its lineage.

Sison said the youth and their families have come to work in Canada because the Philippines remain an “underdeveloped and impoverished neocolony.”

But Canada Filipino youth are in a position that could help the revolutionary struggle of the people.

Einstein Recedes agreed.

“This day is historic, because the youth have affirmed their unity in advancing the interests and welfare of Filipino youth and Filipinos in Canada and of the whole Filipino nation,” Re-

Métis youth leader Gabrielle Fayant facilitates the blanket exercise to tell Canada’s colonial history.

Delegates raise their fists in show of force at the Wilson Hall lecture theatre, University of Toronto.

Josephine of Peterborough, Ontario performs a poem she wrote about her experience in the Sulong Kabataan conference.

Anakbayan Europe and Anakbayan Philippines express support with the flag ceremony.

cedes said in Filipino.

Recedes, Secretary General of Anakabayan Philippines, also spoke at the program that one may easily find other youth who are “willing to offer their lives for freedom and democracy.”

Anakbayan-Canada’s founding congress was part of “Sulong Kabataan - Onward Youth” Conference hosted by Anakbayan Toronto to mark the weekend of the observance of November 17th as International Students Day. The date originally commemorates the year 1939 when students stormed the University of Prague to protest the bloody murder of student leaders, sending of thousands to concentration camps, and closing of all Czech universities by the Nazis.

At A Space Gallery, the conference opened with an exhibit called Bayan featuring community-based comics illustrations from Kwentong Bayan (Althea Balmes + Jo SiMalaya Alcampo), visual art by Jaret Vadera and a short film by Manila-

based Hector Barretto Calma on Martial Law period, when thousands of youths and students protested against what they called the US- puppet regime of then-President Ferdinand Marcos.

Back in the 1970s, labour migration was seen by the government not as a problem but a solution to rising unemployment and inadequate foreign exchange earnings to pay for increasing foreign debts. More recently, the Philippines has become one of the most important sources of immigration with over 700,000 Filipinos in Canada, according to the group.

Earlier activists also addressed the youth conference.

Joey Calugay reminded delegates how organizing young Filipinos started with militant history.

“We come from a country in the process of revolutionizing itself. As a result, we are the product of the process of revolutionization of society,” said Calugay, who was born in the Philippines during the tuwww.canadianinquirer.net

multuous years leading up the declaration of Martial Law. Calugay added it’s not an easy task to build organizations; “individualism and sectarian attitudes” are always a challenge.

He is now Secretary-General of BAYAN-Canada, the short name for the umbrella organization of sectoral Filipino mass organizations.

Law student Renzo Grospe of Montreal said of the newly-established organization will help a lot in the politicizing youth in Canada.

“What I have learned from this conference is that the struggles of Filipinos in the Philippines and of Filipinos in Canada are linked,” said Grospe. He mentioned the issues of higher tuition fees, precarious work, drop-out rates in schools, and systematic discrimination as main concerns.

Conference delegates also further deepened the conversations through a blanket exercise and workshop discussions.

With clenched fists, recruits were sworn in to the organization. Anakbayan members also renewed their commitment to embody the revolutionary

spirit of Bonifacio’s Katipunan and Kabataang Makabayan to change the current reality.

Lyla Luciano of Migrante Youth Alberta said the conference was inspiring. “We need to educate, organize and mobilize everyone and know that the struggle is real! Sulong Kabataan!”

Voting delegates approved the new By-laws and garnered lessons from the US organizing experience. The National Executive Committee officers with a term of three years are Rhea Gamana of Anakbayan Toronto and Renzo Grospe of Anakbayan Montreal as Co-chairs, Sarah Salise of Anakbayan Toronto as Secretary General, and Zharmaine Ante of Anakbayan Montreal as Finance Officer.

A National Council, which is composed of representatives from the five regions of Canada, is also to be formed.

Upon being elected, Rhea Gamana led the crowd with more chanting. “The movement of Filipino youth in Canada continues to advance the national democratic revolution,” she said.

“Long live the nation that dares to fight on!” ■

24

DECEMBER 2, 2016

FRIDAY

Entertainment What makes PH filmmakers PH eyes back-toa cut above the rest back victory in Miss Globe tilt

BY MARINEL R. CRUZ Philippine Daily Inquirer

“I LOVE their passion and willingness to go above and beyond just to make a movie,” said filmmaker and martial arts fighter Vincent Soberano when asked what he thought makes Filipino filmmakers a cut above the rest.

The Beijing-based director is currently in Manila to work on a fantasy-action movie with 1990s action star Monsour del Rosario, who is also the representative of Makati’s District 1.

“I am working with an allFilipino crew. Their creativity is overwhelming, too, considering that we don’t have the kind of facilities that Chinese and American filmmakers have.

They use their ingenuity to make up for that,” he told the Inquirer.

Soberano, who grew up in Bacolod City, left for the United States as a college student and then moved to China, where he has put up a school for mixed martial arts and has gotten involved in film production as part of action star Jackie Chan’s stunt team.

Filipino ingenuity

Soberano’s “Blood Hunters” was awarded best short film at the recent 2016 Cinemax HBO Action Film Competition and the Urban Action Showcase and Expo.

“When we shot the film, people thought we were using Hollywood techniques. Little did they know that we didn’t have mattresses when we jumped off buildings. We only had cigarette boxes to cushion our fall,” he recalled. “We didn’t use cable wires either, because they were too expensive. We also used practical lights and didn’t have any Arri Alexa or Black Magic (digital camera systems) because we couldn’t afford the rent. We still achieved what we wanted because of Filipino ingenuity.”

What was needed, said So-

BY ARMIN P. ADINA Philippine Daily Inquirer

berano, was “someone with a vision, someone who will say it’s not OK to say ‘ pwede na ’yan.’ I refused to compromise just because we were running out of time. In the end, it’s my vision that is on the line.”

Soberano said his full-length feature with Del Rosario will be an “expanded version” of the “Blood Hunters” short film and will feature a cast of real Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) masters and experts. This project is due to be released in 2017.

Goal

“My goal is to promote the Philippines and its martial arts industry. In the film, you will see all the elements— arnis, panantukan, sikaran, kuntao, kali, dumog, among others,” Soberano explained. He observed that when “Ong-bak: Muay Thai Warrior” was made in Thailand, and “The Raid,” in Indonesia, “they changed the history of action films in Asia.

I’m now coming up with something that will be very different.

They will all know that it’s Filipino.”

Filming began in Morong, Bataan, in October and will resume in January. “We will have

fight rehearsals in December. Its story will pick up from the short film, which will be incorporated in the full-length,” Soberano shared with the Inquirer.

Also titled “Blood Hunters,” the full-length film tells the story of a rugged band of demon hunters who capture an aswang queen to extract her blood, which is known to bring the dead back to life. When greed and betrayal get in the way, mayhem ensues among the hunters. The aswang escapes to face off with them in a final, action-packed showdown.

Soberano and Del Rosario were childhood best friends in Bacolod City. “We’ve lived parallel lives,” said Soberano.

“We’re both in the film industry, but I was based in China.

We started hanging out again in 2005, but it was only two years ago that we started talking about making a movie together. He had retired but has always wanted to get back into film. I wanted to push my film career here. We had hoped to become the Filipino version of ‘The Expendables.’ We’re still in fighting shape, with him being (Sylvester) Stallone and I being Jason Statham.” ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

THE PAGEANT scene continues to heat up now with two more international competitions taking place in Europe.

The Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. (BPCI) is optimistic that the country will sustain its recently earned reputation as a world pageant powerhouse with the Philippines’ standard bearers to the Miss Globe contest in Albania and the Miss Supranational tilt in Poland.

Binibining Pilipinas-Globe Nichole Manalo comes from a family of beauty queens.

She is the youngest sister of 2002 Miss World finalist Katherine Manalo and 2009 Miss Universe contestant Bianca Manalo. Nini Ramos-Licaros, the first woman to be crowned Binibining Pilipinas International, is their aunt.

Nichole is competing amid a lot of expectations from Filipino pageant followers, especially because the reigning Miss Globe, Ann Lorraine Colis, is from the Philippines.

Inspired

“More than being pressured, I’m inspired to go for a back-toback victory,” Nichole told media men in a press conference

held at the Novotel Manila in Quezon City recently.

“I trained hard and I promise to do my best to make the Philippines proud,” she added.

Binibining Pilipinas-Supranational Joanna Eden, meanwhile, shared the difficulties she encountered in trying to meet the Miss Supranational pageant’s ideals.

“As you all know, I’m having a hard time being flirtatious,” she revealed, saying the Miss Supranational winners tend to exude a certain level of fierceness.

‘Supranational’ walk, aura

“I really worked on perfecting that walk and the aura that the Miss Supranational pageant is looking for,” Joanna added.

But she noted that she would be a different kind of queen than 2013 Miss Supranational Mutya Johanna Datul, the first Filipino to win the crown.

The 2016 Miss Globe pageant will culminate tonight, while the 2016 Miss Supranational finals will be staged on Dec. 2 (Dec. 3 in Manila).

No telecast or streaming details on the Miss Globe coronation ceremonies have been announced as of press time, but the Miss Supranational finals night will be seen via livestreaming on the pageant’s different online platforms. ■

BINIBINING PILIPINAS / FACEBOOK

Entertainment

FRIDAY DECEMBER 2, 2016

25

Comic books to retro hooks: 5 things we learned from the Weeknd’s ‘Starboy’ album

BY DAVID FRIEND The Canadian Press

U.K. crooner Sam Smith.

He may be shading Drake

CANADIAN R&B mysterioso the Weeknd has lifted the shroud from his “Starboy” album.

After he tinkered around with Daft Punk this summer and shed his trademark dreadlocks a couple of months ago, the Toronto performer’s third studio album dropped early Friday morning.

The 18-track release comes amid the sort of hype reserved for only the biggest international stars.

The Weeknd, born Abel Tesfaye, has been teasing listeners for months with two music videos, a 12-minute short film called “Mania” and a trickle of songs to whet fans’ appetites.

But he brought it all to a crescendo Thursday night with a fans-only listening party at Toronto’s Pinewood Studio, a space usually reserved for sprawling movie productions, and a rare interview with Apple Music DJ Zane Lowe.

With “Starboy” now available to buy and stream on music ser-

The mysterious R&B artist does it again with “Starboy.”

vices, here are a five things to know about the project: It’s star(boy) powered

Not like the Weeknd needed marquee performers to give his latest album traction, but there’s plenty of them here anyway. Robotic duo Daft Punk lend their hands to the opening and closing tracks (lead single

“Starboy” and the funky “I Feel It Coming”), while Lana Del Ray drifts through the fleeting “Stargirl Interlude.” Others making appearances include rapper Future (“All I Know”) and Kendrick Lamar (“Sidewalks”) performing alongside Michigan singer Daniel Wilson, whose smooth voice had listeners initially thinking he was

Rumours of a rift between the Weeknd and old friend Drake have circulated for years without much solid evidence.

The two knew each other back when Tesfaye was still trying to get his career off the ground in Toronto, but after numerous collaborations on Drake’s albums the two appeared to go their separate ways. That’s left fans wondering if this line in “Sidewalks” is a direct shot at the “Hotline Bling” performer: “Too many people think they made me. Well if they really made me then replace me.”

Then again, that could also describe a lot of record executives.

bouncy beat that would fit perfectly in an early 1990s house mix.

He’s still sombre

Yes, several tracks are certain to ignite dance floors, but Tesfaye hasn’t lost his touch for the debauchery and depressing lyrics that shaped his early career.

In one of his darkest songs yet, “Ordinary Life” has the singer (or the Starboy character?) coming to terms with fortune and fame — and how the lifestyle might destroy him. Telling the story of a suicidal sexual encounter behind the wheel of his car, he references the death of David Carradine before reaching even further back. He sings: “Like I’m James Dean, I’mma die when I’m young.”

Retro sounds are in

While he doesn’t pick a particular decade, a couple songs are fused with the spirit of Throwback Thursday. The funky “Secrets” borrows from the chorus of the Romantics’ 1984 rock hit “Talking in Your Sleep” and fuses it with a sample of “Pale Shelter” a 1982 track from Tears for Fears. The bootyshaker “Rockin’” carries a

This isn’t the end

Beyond a global tour set to kick off in the new year, the Weeknd promises more from his Starboy alter ego. In the interview with Lowe on Apple Music, which aired Thursday night, he said a “Starboy” comic book is in works and he’d like to pitch it to Marvel or DC Comics. ■

Disney’s ‘Moana’ debuts to USD81.1-M in Thanksgiving box office PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY LOS ANGELES — Disney’s animated film “Moana” hits weekend box office in North America with over USD80 million.

The animated adventure “Moana” debuted to be number one with an estimated 81.1 million dollars in ticket sales in the five-day holiday weekend period in the United States and Canada.

The five-day revenue of “Moana” makes it to be the second largest Thanksgiving debut ever in America behind Disney’s “Frozen” (93.6 million dollars in five-day) and just ahead of “Toy Story 2” (80.1 million in five-day).

According to BoxOfficeMojo.

com, Disney now owns nine of the top ten five-day and threeday Thanksgiving weekend openings.

“Moana’”s demographic breakdown was 45 percent male vs. 55 percent female.

About 34 percent of the audience was 12 years old or under, 43 percent over the age of 25 and 72 percent of the audience made up of families.

First-night moviegoers gave the film an “A” on CinemaScore and critics gave it a solid good 98 percent approval rate.

Outside North America, “Moana” grossed 16.3 million dollars, including an estimated 12.3 million dollars in China, where it opened on Nov. 25. For a global opening totaling, “Moana” got over 97.4 million dollars.

The Harry Potter franchise

remained strong, with “Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them” predicted to be above 473.7 million dollars in worldwide sales, with 65.8 million dollars over the five-day holiday in north America.

It has amassed 156.2 million dollars over two weeks in the United States and Canada.

Additionally, the film grossed 132 million dollars globally this weekend, fueled by openings in China and Japan where it brought in an estimated of 41.1 million dollars and 15.5 million dollars respectively.

Benedict Cumberbatch’s “Doctor Strange” finished in third showing its strong sales in its fourth weekend of exhibition. It got 18.9 million dollars this holiday period and internationally it has accumulated 616 www.canadianinquirer.net

million dollars.

Paramount’s R-rated World War II drama “Allied” debuted in fourth place, with 18 million dollars in five-day sales.

Another Paramount’s film “Arrival” placed in fifth with 11.3 million dollars, dipping just 7.3 percent in its third weekend. This 47 million dollars budget film has gained over

62.3 million dollars since it has released.

Rounding out the rest 10 most-popular films in the U.S. and Canada in five-day holiday period were “Trolls” (14.3 million), “Almost Christmas” (9.5 million), “Bad Santa 2” (9 million), “Hacksaw Ridge” (7.7 million), and “The Edge of Seventeen” (4.2 million). ■

26

DECEMBER 2, 2016

FRIDAY

Lifestyle The resurgence of that ‘70s sound A thriving community of audiophiles is forever chasing that elusive state of ultimate sonic bliss

BY ERIC S. CARUNCHO Philippine Daily Inquirer THE EPIPHANY came to me the moment the needle dropped on the first track of the record and that epic electric guitar riff came through the speakers.

For a moment, I was 14 again and hearing “Whole Lotta Love” off Led Zeppelin’s classic second album for the first time on a proper stereo system.

It was in a friend’s house.

His parents were out, we had the house to ourselves, so we played the entire album at full volume. Twice.

The record that was playing now wasn’t “Led Zeppelin II,” but “Train Does Led Zeppelin II,” a track-by-track homage released last year by the hard rock group that was, frankly, not in the same league as the mighty Zep. And, truth be told, that revelatory listening of “Whole Lotta Love” eons ago wasn’t really on a “proper stereo system,” but on a pretty crappy Radiowealth console—the kind you could buy at a furniture store back in the day.

It only sounded great because the only basis for comparison we had was a transistor radio.

Short-lived though it was, that moment of Zen did clarify a few things.

We have our most intense experiences early in life—first love, first sexual experience, first time we totally rock out— and we often spend the rest of our lives trying to recapture the feeling.

Audiophilia, the obsession

with high-fidelity sound reproduction that afflicts many music enthusiasts, is a prime example of this pathology.

In their quest for ultimate sound quality—a highly subjective experience—audiophiles invest unbelievable amounts of time, energy and cash on highend stereo equipment. They are constantly upgrading their systems, seeking out rare and exotic components for increasingly marginal improvements in perceived sound quality, forever chasing that elusive state of ultimate sonic bliss.

Annual gathering

We were actually in a room at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati for the November Hifi Show, a much-awaited annual gathering of the audiophile tribes.

Part trade show, part swap meet and part listening party, the Hifi Show is a place where dealers can show and demo their wares, and where members of online audio forums can finally meet each other in person and geek out over high-end stereo equipment and hardtofind albums.

The analogue renaissance is very much in evidence at the Hifi Show: vinyl LPs far outnumbered CDs in the listening rooms. In fact, if the music was digital, it was more likely to be streaming from Spotify rather than a compact disc player.

The busiest section of the show was a large hall in the mezzanine occupied by the record mart. Here, dealers in new and used vinyl had set up shop, and scores of music lovers were

happily digging through crates of LPs, hoping to find that elusive gem.

Double LP

One of the highlights of the event was the evening performance by Ely Buendia’s new soul group Apartel. Prior to the performance, Buendia and the other band members were available to autograph copies of their debut album “Inner Play,” which they chose to release as a limited-edition double LP, pressed in Japan on virgin vinyl in a limited run of 500 copies.

Even at P2,500 a copy, they were flying off the shelves.

This was their first audiophile release, said Buendia, but it might not be their last. He hinted that vinyl pressings of his considerable back catalogue might be available in the near future. Audiophile fans have been clamoring for vinyl versions of the Eraserheads catalogue on social media and various audiophile fora.

Turntables also appeared to outnumber CD players in many of the listening rooms, a far cry from years past when digital still ruled.

Emerging trend

The room we were listening to the “Train Does Led Zeppelin II” LP in belonged to the Audio Pilipinas online group, one of several local Internet forums

www.canadianinquirer.net

devoted to audiophilia of various stripes.

The rig on which the album was playing represented an emerging trend toward vintage stereo equipment: a Technics SP-10 Mark III turntable, a Marantz PM-2500 stereo receiver and JBL-L20 speakers—state of the art maybe 35 years ago.

Not too long ago, you could still find vintage gear in flea markets and surplus shops at rock-bottom prices. Now they fetch exorbitant amounts on eBay, and there is a thriving trade in used equipment among local audiophiles.

These are encouraging signs of a growing diversity and democratization within local audiophile circles.

At their most extreme, audiophiles can fall prey to “equipment-itis,” focusing on gear to the detriment of the music.

Part of the attraction, after all, ❱❱ PAGE 36 The resurgence

Lifestyle

FRIDAY DECEMBER 2, 2016

27

Not what you sphynx:

Women bought pricey, hairless felines that grew fur

BY CHRIS PURDY The Canadian Press

The time sensitive art of producing and selling Hatchimals, the latest hot toy

BY LINDA NGUYEN The Canadian Press TORONTO — The overwhelming popularity of this season’s hottest toy, Hatchimals, has taken many by surprise — including its Toronto-based toymaker, Spin Master.

The furry, robotic bird-like toy animals that hatch from an egg when rubbed have been selling out at stores across North America, Europe and Japan since its launch on Oct. 7.

Some experts say this is a common risk that companies encounter when available stock can’t meet high demand, because perceived value — especially in toys — can be timesensitive.

“These toys tend to be trends and fads. What’s hot this Christmas probably won’t be hot next summer,” says June Cotte, a consumer behaviour researcher and marketing professor at the Ivey Business School at Western University in London, Ont. Cotte notes that the scarcity of Hatchimals is also helping to fuel its popularity, with some of the toys relisted on websites like Craigslist, Kijiji and Ebay at three to four times the original price. The toys sell for $69.99 in stores.

A similar situation occurred in the 1980s with the mania

over the Cabbage Patch Dolls and in the mid-1990s with the Tamagotchi and Tickle Me Elmo toys. In these cases, it was reported that shoppers caused stampedes and even broke into fist fights inside stores over the sought-after toys.

Scarcity marketing, when manufacturers produce a limited number of products or only offer them for a small window of time, also helps drive hype and the fear of missing out for toys like Hatchimals.

According to retail consultancy NPD Group, Hatchimals was the top selling toy in Canada in October.

But it’s difficult for toymakers to look into a crystal ball and predict whether their toy will be the hot trend of the year, notes Michelle Liem, the group’s toys industry analyst.

The toys that do achieve top status don’t always have similar characteristics. Liem says that small, plastic collectibles based on grocery store items like apples and cookies were the big hit last year.

These days the popularity of toys can grow exponentially through word of mouth and social media.

“There’s a new toy that comes out and word gets around about how cool the toy is,” Liem says.

“The faster it starts going off the shelf, the more people are talking about it and talking

about how hard it is to get... It almost perpetuates more demand.”

Spin Master co-CEO Ronnen Harary says part of the appeal of Hatchimals, which took the company two years to create, is the element of surprise that comes with each toy.

Hatchimals come in 12 different species once hatched, and children must nurture and hold them to help them grow through various stages.

“They want to play, that’s the magic of this. There’s something in there,” he says.

Spin Master has even credited YouTube videos of children unboxing, caring and interacting with their Hatchimals for the company’s success.

Harary says the company has ramped up production overseas and are bringing the toys over by plane, train and freight in the hopes that store shelves will see some stock through to the end of the holiday season.

“In a situation like this, it’s very difficult to anticipate exactly what the right amount is (to manufacture),” he says.

“If the product didn’t resonate with the kids then we would be left over with a lot of inventory and a lot of stock.

That’s very costly for the company. So anticipating the right amount of inventory to bring in is part science and part art.” ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

the agency recently received its first call about a fake sphynx and has assigned an officer to investigate. He’s not sure how SHAYLA BASTARACHE was prevalent the scam might be. looking for a hairless, sphynx Yet another duped buyer, cat and thought she had found Shaniya Yung of Blackfalds, a good deal last month on Kijiji. Alta., says her kitten was also A woman was selling sphynx supposed to be a sphynx. kittens for $650 — less than half The 20-year-old says she the cost from a breeder. bought the cat two weeks ago There was no photo with the for $800 from a woman she ad, but Bastarache agreed to met through a Facebook buymeet the seller in a gas station and-sell group. The seller had parking lot an hour north of Cal- recently purchased the cat gary. In the dark, she exchanged from someone else on Kijiji cash for two of the cats — one for and couldn’t keep it because it her and one for a friend — and wasn’t getting along with ancuddled their tiny, smooth bod- other cat in her home. ies on the way home.

It was also injured.

About two When Yung weeks later, got the cat home, Bastarache realshe noticed that ized it was a scam. it had a huge “They just grew I love him and gash on its tail their hair back!”

I definitely and a few cuts on says the bewilplan on its body. dered 20-yearkeeping him “He just sat old, who suspects but he is not with his head the seller was worth $800. on the floor and somehow able to his tail tucked completely shave underneath his what have turned body and he just out to be regular shook.” house cats.

The next day, she took the “I don’t know how she did it.” cat named Vlad to a veterinarBastarache called RCMP but ian, who told her its tail was in says she was told not much danger of amputation because could be done without the sell- of the infected wound — and it er’s name. A cellphone number likely wasn’t a sphynx. the seller supplied was no lon“She was like this could be ger in service. possibly from razor burn or a The furry, fake sphynx, hair removal product, but she named Moofasa, is now part of couldn’t say one way or the the rest of Bastarache’s feline other.” family, which includes two real Yung says she contacted sphynx. She bought the latest the woman who sold her the for what the breed typically cat and together they went to goes for — $1,500. the RCMP but were rebuffed.

Sphynx are alien-looking Again, they didn’t have the with large eyes and ears and original seller’s information soft, wrinkled skin covering and the supplied cell number muscular bodies. Although the wasn’t working. cats are billed as bald, they’re Within a week, the cat was actually covered with a fine lay- improving with medication, er of soft fuzz. and also growing hair.

Bastarache says she could “He’s a tabby cat,” says Yung. never have imagined such a “He’s orange and he’s got rings hoax, but has since heard from around his tail. two others who fell for the con.

“I love him and I definitely Roland Lines with the Al- plan on keeping him but he berta Society for the Preven- is not worth $800 — not even tion of Cruelty to Animals says close.” ■

28

Lifestyle

DECEMBER 2, 2016

FRIDAY

Thanksgiving weekend shoppers spent less due to discounts

BY ANNE D’INNOCENZIO The Associated Press NEW YORK — Thanksgiving weekend shoppers picked up hot toys, TVs and new Apple products, buying both online and in stores, but spent less per person because of rampant discounting that they’ve come to demand.

Once all the receipts are in, customers look to have spent an average of $289.19 over the four-day weekend, down nearly 3.5 per cent from a year ago, based on a survey by the National Retail Federation. The pressure on prices was especially strong on products like TVs. More than 154 million customers said they had shopped or planned to this Thanksgiving weekend, up from 151 million a year ago, according to the survey conducted Friday and Saturday by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. And more were doing it online, as about 99.1 million went to the stores and 108.5 million shopped online.

Carmen Cunnyngham of Kansas City, Kansas, was in Denver on Sunday and decided to stop at the mall to pick up a new pair of Ugg boots for her daughter. They were discounted at Nordstrom, which is one of her favourite places to shop.

She said she got a bit of a late start this year because of the presidential election, so she’s been looking online for deals

and jumping when she sees them.

“I’m trying to make sure I get the wish lists in and look at those and shop and do what I can before Christmas gets here,” she said.

The drop in spending underscores how even with an improving economy, many shoppers are still focused on habit developed during the Great Recession. They’re fixated on deals and more readily using technology to find them whenever they want to buy. More than a third of customers surveyed by the NRF said that all of their purchases were on sale, up 11 per cent from a year ago.

The Thanksgiving weekend kicks off the holiday shopping season but stores have increasingly started their sales earlier.

Stores had been wary about being left with a lot of inventory they would have to discount to get off the shelves, and so started the season with less on hand. That will help preserve profit margins, but they’ve still planned aggressive promotions to grab shoppers.

“People are much more deliberate about the purchases they make,” NRF CEO Matthew Shay said Sunday. “In a perfect world, everyone would sell at full price, but as consumers and as buyers all of us would like to get a deal on things we buy. The era of promotional sales is with us to stay.”

Even though shoppers are spending less per person, more shoppers could still translate into more spending. Master-

Card Advisors SpendingPulse, which tracks spending on all kinds of payments, estimated that spending over the four-day weekend will be up 3.8 per cent, with online sales up by doubledigit percentages and in-store sales up in the single digits. But MasterCard Advisors’ Sarah Quinlan also cited a slight decline in the average sale because of promotions.

Stores trying to snag customers first and compete with Amazon are shifting to a steady stream of online discounts and alerts instead of focusing on doorbuster sales on a few products. That meant that online shopping stole thunder away from sales at stores. And while areas like electronics and toys remained strong for the weekend, clothing, particularly basic sweaters, were still a tough sell.

Shoppers are visiting fewer stores and the rate at which browsers converted into buyers was slightly lower than

last year, said William Taubman, chief operating officer at Taubman Centers Inc., which operates 24 malls around the country. But he said overall customer traffic was up. After a contentious presidential election, he believes people are ready to buy.

“Resolution is a good thing,” he said. “That makes people feel somewhat more comfortable.” And for wealthier customers, he said, the prospects of tax cuts will help.

Janice Allsop, 66, a retired secretary who worked in the trucking industry, said she’ll likely spend more this year because of the election.

“The stock markets have gone up. I’m just delighted with President Trump,” said Allsop, who was shopping at Water Tower Place mall in Chicago on Saturday. “I’m not afraid (to spend more). If Hillary Clinton would have gotten in, I would have been very scared, very re-

luctant.”

But shoppers may still be split. Joyce Hill, a 67-year-old retired auto worker from Inkster, Michigan, who was also shopping in Chicago. Hill said she will stay on the low end of her usual spending this year because she’s worried that Trump will start to cut back on Social Security.

“I’ll spend less because you don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t think he’ll (Trump) support us but I don’t know if he’s gonna let things stay status quo,” said Hill.

Even though the weekend brings many out shopping, Black Friday usually vies with the Saturday before Christmas as the busiest sales day. This year the calendar means Dec. 17 is the big contender, says Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners. The NRF survey found that fewer shoppers had finished their holiday buying and more hadn’t even started compared to a year ago.

“We’ve seen in recent years that most places will have good sales after Black Friday comes and goes, so we don’t have to do everything this weekend,” said William Junkin, who was at the Best Buy store in Howell, New Jersey, on Thursday night. “We’ll see how it all plays out.” ■ Associated Press writers Sadie Gurman in Denver, Don Babwin in Chicago, Bruce Shipkowski in Howell, New Jersey and Josh Boak in Washington, D.C. contributed to this report.

DepEd: Go for brown rice — for health, PH

BY JOCELYN R. UY Philippine Daily Inquirer EDUCATION SECRETARY Leonor Briones has called on public and private schools and the offices of the Department of Education (DepEd) to make brown rice available in their canteens in celebration of National Rice Awareness Month.

In a memorandum, Briones also requested that brown rice, instead of the usual white rice,

be served during feeding programs, events, seminars, trainings and other school activities in support of the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) “Brown for Good” campaign.

The DA campaign, with brown rice or unpolished grain as the centerpiece, is aimed at achieving rice self-sufficiency for the country, higher income for local farmers and better health among consumers. National Rice Awareness Month is observed up to Dec. 5.

Briones said making brown rice available in canteens, serving it during events, displaying campaign materials on campuses and offices and promoting the consumption of brown rice among students and personnel were among the many ways the DepEd and schools can support the campaign. “[This is] in order to facilitate the participation and encourage the continuous brown rice consumption in offices and schools,” she said in a memo to www.canadianinquirer.net

all DepEd officials, public and private school heads.

As part of the campaign, the DA also promised to donate one cup of brown rice to partner charities for every photo or selfie captioned with #BROWN4good on social media.

The campaign highlights the “four goodness” that brown rice can bring about: goodness to the body, to the farmers, to the country and to others.

The DA pointed out that unpolished rice is a healthier al-

ternative to white rice because of its higher fiber content and higher satiety level, which can help prevent cardiovascular disease, cancer and Type 2 diabetes.

Consumption of brown rice can boost the value of locally produced rice, which in turn can help local farmers compete with cheap imported white rice.

The variety’s milling recovery rate is 10-percent higher, which adds 10 percent to the country’s total rice output, the DA said. ■

29

FRIDAY DECEMBER 2, 2016

Sports Iglupas gets US offers after Phinma-PSC victory

BY MARC ANTHONY REYES Philippine Daily Inquirer THINGS ARE looking up for Khim Iglupas.

The 18-year-old Filipino tennis talent began to entertain offers for athletic scholarship from United States schools, according to her coach, Philippine Tennis Academy mentor Jun Toledo.

Toledo said Iglupas, World No. 104 in juniors, has yet to decide which offer to take, but she’s following the footsteps of PTA alumni Francis Casey

Alcantara who finished with a communications degree in Pepperdine University.

The Iligan City native obtained yet another credential after winning the girls’ singles title yesterday in the PhinmaPSC international junior championships Week 2 at Philippine Columbian Association courts.

Iglupas destroyed Rika Tanaka of Japan 6-0, 6-1, in the final for her third Phinma-PSC title.

She won Week 1 the past two editions.

It was a double celebration for Iglupas as she and partner Lee Kuan-yi of Chinese Taipei

outlasted Japanese pair Risa Fukutoku and Tanaka, 6-2, 6-7 (4), (10-7), to rule girls’ doubles.

Later, Otico teamed up with Japanese Seita Watanabe to overcome the Japanese tandem of Tomoya Ikeda and Saitoh, 64, 3-6, (10-5), and capture boys’ doubles’ top prize.

Late Saturday she dumped another Japanese, Shiho Tsukuda, 6-4, 6-4, in the semifinals, a few hours after drubbing yet another Japanese, Ange Oby Kajuro (6-3, 1-6, 6-4), in the quarterfinals of the rain-disrupted tournament. ■

All Canadian showdown sets another record as Toronto, Montreal bid for MLS Cup final

BY NEIL DAVIDSON The Canadian Press TORONTO — Not since the heyday of the NASL has Canadian club soccer had such a stage.

On Wednesday night before a record BMO Field crowd of some 36,000, Toronto FC looks to win and stay home to host the MLS Cup final. The Montreal Impact plan to defend their 3-2 aggregate lead and then head west to challenge the upstart Seattle Sounders for North America’s soccer supremacy.

Either way history will be made as Wednesday’s result will send a Canadian team to the MLS Cup for the first time since Toronto brought the league north of the border in 2007. The question is will it be wearing red or black and blue.

A win or tie works for Montreal. The slimmest of victories will advance Toronto.

“We feel very very good about the position we’re in,” Toronto

captain Michael Bradley said Tuesday. “This is why you play.

We have 90 minutes at home to get to a final.

“Opportunities like this aren’t coming around every day and I think we have a group of guys who understand that and who are ready to embrace the game and go for it and leave everything we have on the field. “(Wednesday) is a big day for the franchise and a big day for our players,” added Toronto coach Greg Vanney.

Only the winner gets to do that. The loser will have to lick their wounds and rue missing a glorious opportunity.

The record BMO Field attendance is thanks to the temporary seats that were installed in the south end for Sunday’s Grey Cup. The CFL championship drew 33,421, which was described as capacity. The soccer configuration for the stadium allows more seating.

The first leg of the Eastern Conference final drew 61,004 at Olympic Stadium, tying the best

attendance in Impact history.

Toronto’s record crowd is 47,658 for the CONCACAF Champions League quarter-final against David Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy in March 2012 at the Rogers Centre.

The MLS record for playoff attendance is 61,316 at the 2002 MLS Cup final at Gillette Stadium.

Back in 1979, the Vancouver Whitecaps drew 32,875 to Empire Stadium for Game 1 of their North American Soccer League conference championship with the New York Cosmos. Another 44,109 took in the second leg at Giants Stadium.

The Whitecaps then downed the Tampa Bay Rowdies 2-1 before 50,699 to win the Soccer Bowl.

Since the two-legged format was adopted in 2012, no team has come back from a loss to win the Conference championship history. The conference championships were singleelimination games from 2003 to 2011. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

Brazil mourns soccer team killed in plane crash PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilians on Tuesday mourned the loss of an up-and-coming soccer team that was among the victims of a plane crash late Monday.

Brazilian team Chapecoense was heading to a championship final in Medellin, Colombia, when the LMI2933 charter flight carrying a total of 81 passengers went down just kilometers from the destination airport.

According to Brazil’s G1 news website, six people were believed to have survived, including three football players, two members of the flight crew, and a sports reporter. As many as 21 journalists accompanying the team were killed.

Dressed in the club’s green colors, relatives of players and fans of Chapecoense, which was to play the first final match of the South American Cup on Wednesday, gathered at the team’s stadium to receive news and grieve.

Brazil’s President Michel Temer declared three days of mourning and offered assistance to the families of the victims.

World soccer body FIFA, Brazil’s Soccer Confederation (CBF) and the South American Soccer Confederation (Conmebol) all issued statements lamenting the tragedy and offering condolences.

The South American Cup was suspended until further notice, and all matches of three tournaments taking place in Brazil have been suspended for a week.

Long a minor team, Chapecoense had recently ascended to Brazil’s premier league.

Last year, the team’s performance earned it a spot to play in the 2016 South American Cup. It was only the second time that it had qualified to compete in an international tournament, after also qualifying for the 2015 South American Cup, where it lost in the quarterfinals to Argentinian team River Plate.

The plane had taken off from Sao Paulo, Brazil and made a stopover in Bolivia before heading on to Medellin.

Recovery efforts continued.

Officials said it was not immediately known why the plane crashed, but two black boxes have been recovered, Colombia’s Caracol News reported. ■

30

DECEMBER 2, 2016

FRIDAY

Business RCBC: Why blame us for $81-M heist?

New wave of senior management changes set as key bank officials resign

BY DAXIM L. LUCAS AND DORIS DUMLAOABADILLA Philippine Daily Inquirer RIZAL COMMERCIAL Banking Corp. (RCBC) Tuesday shifted the blame for the $81-million money laundering scandal to the party from whom the funds were stolen—Bangladesh Bank (BB)— saying it was the negligence of the impoverished South Asian country’s central bank that was the immediate cause of the crime.

In a statement, the external counsel of the Yuchengco-controlled universal bank stressed that it was not liable to pay BB for the theft of its funds deposited at the New York Federal Reserve Bank.

“RCBC is not the proximate cause of the theft. They have no case against us,” RCBC external counsel Thea Daep said. “BB was the one who was negligent.

We therefore urge BB to be transparent to the Philippine government, which has done so much to help them and show us who really stole from them.”

The statement of Daep came after Bangladesh’s ambassador to Manila John Gomes said his country was seeking compensation from RCBC of up to $50 million, or about P2.5 billion, as committed by the bank’s former president, Lorenzo Tan, during a Senate probe on the controversy last April.

As this developed, Yuchengco-led RCBC is undergoing a new wave of senior management revamp following the resignation of some key officials.

Lawyer Ma. Celia FernandezEstavillo, long-time corporate secretary, director and head of the legal and regulatory affairs group, tendered her resignation effective Nov. 29, RCBC disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Tuesday.

She was one of the key resource persons who explained RCBC’s side during the Senate hearings on the $81-million

JP Morgan: Investors will only dangle cash for infra projects with low risks

BY DORIS DUMLAOABADILLA Philippine Daily Inquirer

The RCBC Tower in Makati, Manila.

Bangladesh cyberheist earlier this year.

“I signified my intention to resign after all matters pending in the Senate and the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) had been resolved. At this stage in my life, I would like to move on and pursue other endeavors.

It has nothing to do with the case recently filed against some of the RCBC officers. Rather, it has everything to do with what the future holds for me,” Estavillo said in a text message Tuesday when asked about the resignation.

RCBC has hired another UP Law graduate, George Gilbert dela Cuesta, to take over the post to be vacated by Estavillo.

He will head the bank’s legal and regulatory affairs group with the rank of first senior vice president effective Jan. 1, 2017.

Expatriate senior vice president Koji Ozonawa also quit his post effective today. He was the Japanese liaison officer of RCBC’s Japanese business relationship office. He was formerly the senior manager of the international credit administration department of Sanwa Bank Ltd. in Tokyo in 1999.

Lizette Margaret Mary Racela, RCBC’s first SVP and group head of retail banking, has also quit her post effective today.

To take over Racela’s post, the bank has hired Jonathan Diokno as the new head of retail banking group with the rank of first SVP effective Jan. 16, 2017.

To date, Bangladesh has only been able to recover $15 million of the total amount stolen by hackers who sent the funds

CREATIVE COMMONS

to Philippine casino operator Solaire through RCBC. Casino junket operator Kim Wong surrendered the funds that were brought in by his Chinese clients upon learning that these were the proceeds of a crime.

Daep squarely blamed Bangladesh, pointing out that “numerous reports quoting high Bangladeshi officials and the initial findings of BB’s own investigation indicated that the heist got help from BB insiders. Shortly after, BB decided to abort its investigation, which raises a lot of questions, to say the least.”

She claimed that RCBC was just the recipient of the funds that went through “three layers of highly protected financial institutions”: The New York Federal Reserve, the Swift international money transfer service and the three global banks that eventually made the remittance.

Daep accused Gomes of “unfairly using media to pressure the Philippine government and make it its own collection agent and in the process is creating an undue and unnecessary adverse public portrayal of RCBC and, by extension, the local banking sector.”

“Ambassador Gomes has blamed everybody but itself for its loss,” she said.

The bank’s lawyer challenged the Bangladeshi central bank to produce the results of its own investigations to help shed light on who the perpetrators were since, she said, these “will be critical in helping the global banking sector protect itself.” ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

FOR A country like the Philippines striving to enter a golden age of infrastructure, financing is not a tough hurdle for proponents due to a very liquid capital market.

But the bigger concern for investors was the lack of wellstructured projects with predictable cash flow and shielded from the potential changing of the rules in the middle of the game, investment bankers from JP Morgan Chase said.

In an interview with Inquirer, JP Morgan executive director and head of banking Philippines Carlos Ma. Mendoza said: “It’s really [about] the projects being structured well and being taken to market in a timely fashion and with rules that don’t change in the middle of the game.”

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently approved a pioneering framework for the listing of any company engaged in an infrastructure project under the publicprivate partnership (PPP) program. The new framework waives the usual requirement of a three-year track record and operating history for PPP companies, provided they are able to comply with the rest of the requirements for listing on the Philippine Stock Exchange’s (PSE) main board.

“We have to be thoughtful about investor appropriateness,” Mendoza added. He cited, for instance, it wouldn’t help when there are noises surrounding the implementation of tariff increases, such as in the water sector.

The water concessionaires in

the metro have been forced to resort to arbitration abroad to seek tariff increases needed to ensure their viability.

Rohit Chatterji, JP Morgan head of investment banking for South and Southeast Asia, said in a separate interview that infrastructure projects across the region had already attracted yield-seeking investors.

“Domestic yield here is low so there’s a case to be made for infrastructure to be listed as yield play or business trust in the Philippine stock exchange and permitting, therefore, the sponsoring of those projects is directionally good,” he said.

“The question is: How do you get projects to a level where there’s predictability of cash flows and predictability of the regimes where they are operating?” he added.

Based on the rules approved by the SEC, to qualify for stock market listing, the PPP project bagged by the company going public should not be less than P5 billion as indicated in the financial bid. Existing shareholders of the PPP company are prohibited from offering their shares during the initial public offering period, which means that only primary shares will be allowed for sale.

Given that concessions under the PPP projects expire at some point, the PSE was tasked to ensure investors would know what would happen to the assets of the PPP company. As part of the additional disclosure requirements under the framework, a listed PPP company must submit to the exchange a business plan which may include its plans for liquidation and winding up, or a proposal for a new business, at least three years before the scheduled expiration of the PPP contract. ■

Business

FRIDAY DECEMBER 2, 2016

31

Federal and Quebec governments under pressure to finance Montreal train project THE CANADIAN PRESS MONTREAL — The federal and Quebec governments are under pressure to quickly commit funding for Montreal’s new $5.9-billion electric train project, which the Caisse de depot is promoting as a model for funding infrastructure projects.

Quebec’s pension fund manager

has created an infrastructure subsidiary to oversee the construction and operation of the 67-kilometre network, which is to be ready for service by the end of 2020.

The Caisse is also contributing $3.1 billion and the city of Montreal is committing $100 million for the project. Ottawa and the province are being asked to split the remaining $2.7-billion estimated cost.

The project’s price increased by $400 million with Friday’s announcement of three new underground stations that will shorten travel times to the downtown core and relieve congestion on one of the city’s most congested subway lines.

The Caisse de depot’s president and CEO, Michael Sabia, says the network of electric trains is exactly the type of proj-

ect that Ottawa should want to support as it spends more on infrastructure and aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Sabia says he expects the two levels of government will announce their financial support within the next four months.

Federal officials weren’t immediately available for comment.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested last spring

that his government is keenly interested in the project, which fits a commitment to support eco-friendly projects.

In his fall economic update, Finance Minister Bill Morneau said that Ottawa will add $81 billion in spending over 11 years, raising total federal infrastructure spending to $187 billion through the 2027-2028 financial year. ■

DTI: Firms raise ‘Troubled children’ failures concerns on ending restore stability for rest contractualization of Canadian oilpatch

BY KRIS M. CRISMUNDO Philippines News Agency MANILA — Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez said local and foreign companies have raised their concerns on ending contractualization.

On the sidelines of Manufacturing Summit 2016 in Makati City on Monday, Lopez told reporters that three local firms and one Japanese company said they are rethinking their expansion plans here if the government will scrap the option for enterprises to hire employees by contract.

He mentioned that each company are employing 20,000 to 30,000 personnel and plans to add about 30,000 more jobs.

“They like to add 30,000 more ( jobs) but they are looking at the contractualization issue,” he said.

“If contractualization will be removed, they (companies) will look for another place, they said,” the DTI chief added.

Three local firms and a Japanese company are tapping service providers for their manpower, Lopez mentioned.

The official noted that companies are supporting the “winwin” structure that DTI has proposed.

DTI’s “win-win” solution wants the security of tenure to take place in service providers.

This means service providers will have the direct employeremployee relation.

The principal company will pay the salary and provide the benefits through service providers.

The service providers also has the responsibility to redeploy its employees to other firms if their service to a principal company has ended.

“That’s even better than the current format,” said Lopez. ■

THE CANADIAN PRESS

has clearly stabilized ... There’s not as much frantic-ness to it.”

He said he agrees that the CALGARY — Mergers and acmergers and acquisitions marquisitions experts are predictket has improved and predicted ing fewer Canadian oil and gas that several deals will be ancompanies will go bust over the nounced in December and Jannext year as most of the “trouuary as companies make yearbled children” of the industry end moves to try to impress have already failed or been sold. their shareholders.

Tom Pavic, vice-president of Edgelow said rising buyer inCalgary-based Sayer Energy terest is illustrated by the case Advisors, said 26 Canadian enof Mosaic Energy, a private Calergy companies have entered gary company thrown into reinto a court-monitored receivceivership in April. ership or restructuring process Receiver Ernst & Young reso far this year. ported to Court of Queen’s That’s up Bench last week from 20 in 2015, that it had rewhen the total ceived 40 promatched the posals from 32 number of failbidders for three ures recorded in They’ve gotten their costs as low as packages of as2009 during the they can and the market has clearly sets in Alberta last oil price-restabilized ... There’s not as much and B.C. lated economic frantic-ness to it.

It recomdownturn.

He mended that said there are the court accept typically eight oil Calgary-based and gas company ARC Resources’ failures each (TSX:ARX) bid year.

2014. for certain B.C. properties, “I think a lot of the troubled Bruce Edgelow, vice-pres- without revealing the price. children have been dealt with, ident of strategic initiatives However, Pavic and Edgelow for lack of a better word,” Pavic with ATB Financial, said the pointed out that access to insaid in an interview.

Alberta lender is seeing signs of vestment capital remains tight “There will still be more re- stability as it completes the fall in the oilpatch with only large, ceiverships but I don’t believe reviews of its energy company well-managed companies able it will be as much as this year.” loans. to borrow money to fund drillHigher oil and natural gas “People have kind of settled ing programs. prices have brought a measure into the cash flow they’re get“A 1,000-barrel-a-day proof stability to the sector. ting,” he said. ducer is in tough shape these However, confidence contin“They’ve gotten their costs as day to find somebody as a new ues to be buffeted by changing low as they can and the market lender,” said Edgelow. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

provincial and national carbon emission policies and uncertainty over international supply and demand.

In a report, Sayer predicted more energy deals over the next year because buyers and sellers are becoming more closely aligned on how much assets are worth after two years of slumping commodity prices.

The report noted that $17.8 billion in oil and gas deals took place in Canada through the first nine months of 2016, up from $15 billion in all of 2015, but lagging the $49 billion in

32

DECEMBER 2, 2016

FRIDAY

Technology B.C. company mixes technology, storytelling to design high end theme park rides

BY GEORDON OMAND The Canadian Press PORT COQUITLAM, B.C. — Every day, thousands of thrill seekers around the globe strap themselves into amusement park rides and are taken on a multimedia adventure, whether coming face to face with a fire-breathing dragon, flying on a wizard’s broomstick or perhaps soaring over the wonders of the world.

The technology that makes many these experiences possible can be traced back to a company headquartered in suburban Vancouver, little known outside the industry, that is quickly making a name for itself as a premier builder of some of the most popular and sophisticated rides on the planet.

Since 2011, Dynamic has leveraged its longtime expertise in steel fabrication and the precision-engineering of highend telescopes to work alongside Disney, Universal Studios and other theme park owners to create everything from the Harry Potter rides to the popular flying theatres.

Kelven Tan, vice-president of business development in Asia, said what sets Dynamic Attractions apart is not only the technology but its expertise in immersive, media-based attractions, along with the focus it places on storytelling.

“The rides are only the means to an end,” Tan said, speaking at the company’s base in Port Coquitlam.

“Whether it’s a tilt and drop,

Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi is one of the company's clients.

DAVIDNNP / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

whether it’s a spin cycle or a Dynamic was established in reached out for help troublegyro table, it’s just to create the Vancouver in 1926, but by the shooting one of its attractions. effect,” he added. “It has turned late 20th century it had carved Fast forward to today and the science of rides into an art.” out a niche in high-precision the company has more than Dynamic’s facilities are a hive engineering for products such 50 rides operating around the of activity. The grounds include as telescopes. world and many more in the steel fabrication works. shops and severDynamic is in al custom-built the process of hangers, one of creating mediawhich houses a The rides are only the means to an based attractions section of rollerend. Whether it’s a tilt and drop, for the inaugucoaster track whether it’s a spin cycle or a gyro ral 20th Centhat pivots up table, it’s just to create the effect. It tury Fox World and down atop a has turned the science of rides into in Malaysia, for five-storey trianan art.

Ferrari World in gular structure. the United Arab It’s called a tiltEmirates and for and-drop and rean outer spacesembles a futuristic version of a In the late 20th century, the themed amusement park in medieval catapult. company got a foothold in the Hangzhou, China.

The company has changed amusement park market when Guy Nelson, Dynamic’s presidramatically since its inception a former collaborator who had dent and CEO, bought the comas a steel fabricator 90 years ago. gone on to work for Disney pany in 2007 and oversaw its

www.canadianinquirer.net

transition to designing theme park attractions. The company’s background with telescopes made the switch a logical one, he said.

“We have a skill set that’s second to none in the area of moving large pieces of steel safely and to precision tolerances, like you would expect of a telescope on top of a mountain,” Nelson said.

“Those skill sets transcend and actually are applicable in the ride-system business where precision and safety and quality are very important.”

In 2010, Dynamic’s annual revenue from media-based attractions amounted to about $20 million. By 2015 that number had more than quintupled, to over $100 million.

Earlier this year, the company opened a facility in Orlando, Fla., dedicated to designing attractions.

Looking to the future, the company sees itself pivoting toward Asia, noting that theme park visits in the Far East are expected to overtake those in North America within two years.

Nelson described one of his favourite rides as Soaring Over the Horizon at Shanghai Disneyland, which takes visitors on a scenic flight around the globe.

“People are coming off of that flying theatre ... screaming with delight, eight- to 80-year-olds, with memories that they’ll have forever,” he said.

“What we want to accomplish is absolutely the same thing, only more of it.” ■

Technology

FRIDAY DECEMBER 2, 2016

33

Toyota says new technology Sweat it out!

Skin patch aims to means longer battery life

BY YURI KAGEYAMA The Associated Press TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp. has developed a new way of observing the movements of tiny particles in batteries used to power electric vehicles — an advance it says will help boost their cruise range by 10 per cent to 15 per cent.

Toyota engineer Hisao Yamashige explained to reporters Thursday at the Japanese automaker’s Tokyo office the complex method for tracking the lithium ions, which are tiny particles in lithium-ion batteries, also used in laptops and smartphones.

The ions’ movements, which are extremely hard to detect, are critical in determining the ef-

ficiency and power of a battery.

Increasing cruise range is the biggest obstacle for electric vehicles, especially because charging stations aren’t as common as gas stations.

Toyota is more bullish about fuel-cell vehicles, which are expensive but can deliver the same cruise range as gas engines. Yamashige said there is no change to that overall company policy.

Toyota, which makes the Prius hybrid, has no pure electric vehicles in its lineup since production of its electric iQ subcompact and other earlier models were discontinued after selling in only small numbers.

But all the world’s major automakers are working on electric vehicles. Japanese rival Nissan Motor Co. leads with its Leaf,

which has a range of about 100 miles (160 kilometres) on a single charge. The Nissan-Renault alliance accounts for about half the world’s pure EVs sold.

Toyota’s new technology will allow the company to test various materials and battery structures, and an improved electric vehicle is being planned for the commercial market within the next “several years,” said Yoshinori Suga, a department manager.

The tests are being carried out in collaboration with Japanese research organization Riken, using its high-intensity X-ray facility. Toyota will present its observation method at a battery symposium in Japan later this month, sharing it with other automakers, although not its findings. ■

Inlet will increase by 700 per cent and it’s inevitable that there will be a collision in a very congested inlet.”

Trudeau made a point of saying overall ship traffic in the inlet would increase by only 13 per cent, but critics said the government clearly lacks community approval for the decisions.

“He doesn’t have social license,” cracked the NDP’s Mulcair. “Heck, he doesn’t ever have a learner’s permit.”

Earlier Tuesday, the broad strokes of a year-long Liberal government effort to position the government between fossil fuel development advocates, indigenous groups and climate policy hawks played out during question period in the House of Commons.

Ambrose challenged Trudeau that it is not enough for the government to approve major pipelines; it must then “champion them through to the end” in order to see that they actually get built.

Mulcair, by contrast, accused the Liberals of a “Goldilocks approach” that has browbeat the Liberal party’s own environmentally conscious, anti-pipeline MPs into silence.

Trudeau was happy to claim the middle ground.

“One side of this House wants us to approve everything and ignore indigenous communities and environmental responsibilities,” he said.

“The other side of the House doesn’t care about the jobs or the economic growth that comes with getting our resources to market.”

The pipeline decisions follow weeks of Liberal government announcements designed to show it is serious about combating climate change, including an accelerated coal phaseout, a national floor price on carbon emissions starting in 2018 and $1.5 billion for ocean protection and spill clean-ups.

Trudeau confirmed Tuesday that he’ll be holding a first ministers meeting with provincial and territorial premiers as well as indigenous leaders on Dec. 9 in Ottawa, where the pan-Canadian climate plan will be the main focus of the agenda.

U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden will also be making a visit to Ottawa on Dec. 8-9 to meet with the first ministers — perhaps one last opportunity for the Liberals to showcase their environmental policy entente with outgoing President Barack Obama before president-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration in January. ■

Trudeau says... never approve Kinder Morgan without redoing the Harper government’s flawed environmental review process.

“He still doesn’t even have a plan to deal with greenhouse gases after the Paris conference,” Mulcair said. “So, there’s no excuse for what he’s doing here today.”

Climate advocates such as Patrick DeRochie of Environmental Defence said the approvals raise “grave doubts” Canada can meet its international 2030 climate goals, and that much deeper emissions cuts will have to be made elsewhere in the Canadian economy.

Many indigenous leaders, with whom the Liberals have promised a new nation-to-nation relationship, were scathing.

“The struggle will simply intensify,” said Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of British Columbia Chiefs. “It will become more litigious, it will become more political and the battle will continue.”

There are no conditions under which the chiefs would have been willing to agree to the project, Phillip added.

“The risks are just too grave.

The tanker traffic in Burrard ❰❰ 16

www.canadianinquirer.net

test sweat for health

BY LAURAN NEERGAARD The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Breaking a sweat? Researchers are creating a skin patch that can test those droplets while people exercise and beam results to their smartphones, possibly a new way to track health and fitness.

The experimental gadget goes well beyond activity monitors like the Fitbit. A little larger than a quarter, it’s almost like a tiny lab stuck to the skin — and a study published Wednesday found it worked on sweaty bicyclists, sticking even during a long-distance race in Arizona.

If you think of perspiration as just a drippy nuisance, think again.

“Sweat has biochemical components within it that tell us a lot about physiological health,” said John A. Rogers, who directs Northwestern University’s Center for Bio-Integrated Electronics and led the new research.

Today’s wearable technology helps people track their calories, activity and heart rate. A wearable biosensor would be “radically different,” Rogers said.

For simple fitness purposes, it could give an early warning that it’s time to replenish electrolytes before someone starts to feel dehydrated. But eventually with additional research, Rogers envisions more sophisticated use of such devices, such as real-time monitoring of how the body adjusts during military training, or even to screen people for diseases such as diabetes or cystic fibrosis.

Rogers, who did much of the research while at the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign, has long worked to develop electronic devices that can stretch and twist with the body. The skin-like sweat patch adds a capability called microfluidics, capturing and analyzing tiny amounts of body fluid.

How it works: Stick the patch on the skin and start moving.

Tiny channels collect perspiration and route it to different compartments where it interacts with chemicals that change colour to reflect sweat loss, the perspiration’s acidity level, and concentrations of chloride, glucose and lactate.

Together, those measurements can indicate such things as hydration levels or electrolyte loss. Hold a smartphone over the patch, and an app takes a picture of the colours and interprets what they mean.

In two studies reported Wednesday, Rogers’ team stuck patches to the arms and backs of 21 healthy volunteers. Nine rode exercise bikes in a gym to compare the sweat patches’ performance with the decidedly lower-tech method of sweattesting used today — taping on absorbent pads and carting the resulting wet samples to a laboratory. For a more real-world test, the other 12 bicyclists wore the patches while competing in a long-distance outdoor race in Tucson.

The patches stayed in place and worked even in the challenging outdoor race, and the patches’ biochemical test results agreed with the indoor bikers’ conventional sweat tests, the researchers reported in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

“It seems really practical,” said Stanford University chemical engineering professor Zhenan Bao, who also researches novel biomedical materials but wasn’t involved with the sweat patch. By simply looking at a colour change, “such a patch allows people to now have an opportunity to understand their health and how it changes depending on activities.”

It’s a growing field: Other research groups around the country, including some of Bao’s colleagues, are pursuing wearable biosensors.

Rogers’ sweat patches are designed for one-time use over a few hours. While Wednesday’s studies used an early version that analyzed sweat just once during the exercise, he’s now testing a design capable of multiple measurements over time. ■

DECEMBER 2, 2016

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FRIDAY DECEMBER 2, 2016

35

Travel In Cuba, tourists find historic moment and limited options

BY PETER ORSI The Associated Press HAVANA — They came for salsa music and mojitos and ended up wandering through a city turned still and silent by nine days of national mourning for Fidel Castro.

As Cuba prepares a massive commemoration for the leader of its socialist revolution, tens of thousands of highseason travellers have found themselves accidental witnesses to history — and smack in the middle of a sombre city that’s little like its usual exuberant self.

“Who knows what tomorrow or after People remember Cuban leader Fidel Castro after his death. nine days brings in terms of the country and what happens for the future,” said doned off access to the towering monu- celled. Instead they trekked across the Graham Palmer, a 36-year-old financial ment to independence hero Jose Marti. bay for the nightly cannon-firing ceredirector from London. “And I think we Meanwhile a citywide ban on most mony that in colonial times signalled the will certainly look back at the airport alcohol sales means those savoring Cu- closing of Havana harbour, only to find tomorrow and feel quite privileged that ban cigars for the first time have to do so that it too had been called off. we’ve been here.” without the traditional accompanying Easton said he has wanted to come to “We picked up the (Communist Party) snifter of rum.

Cuba his entire life and Castro’s passing Granma paper from yesterday, so we’ve “They tell us, sorry but we are not has sparked fascinating conversations got that,” said his companion, 36-year- serving beer,” said Sawicki. “It’s a little with Cubans about Castro, the country old marketing worker Emma Taylor. bit annoying because we would like to and their future. But at the same time — “I think we could quite even think have a glass of beer in the evening.” from a “purely selfish touristic perspecabout framing it,” Palmer interjected.

The closures likely affect Cubans even tive” — it’s a bit sombre. So they decided “It’s quite poignant.” more. Cinemas where it costs just a few to cut their time in Havana a day short Yet they and other cents to take in a flick and head back to their friend’s house in travellers said that in have been shuttered, the beach city of Varadero. addition to the awe along with theatres “We’ll never forget having been here at being present as and dance halls. at this historic moment,” Easton said.

Cubans honour one I’ll tell my grandkids Lined up outdoors “I’ll tell my grandkids I was there in Haof the 20th century’s I was there in at the Coppelia ice vana when Fidel died, but then we left most influential leadHavana when Fidel cream parlour in early because there’s basically no partyers, there’s a tinge of died, but then we downtown Havana, ing.” regret at seeing such left early because conversations were More than 3 million tourists visited a subdued Havana. there’s basically no more subdued than Cuba last year, and the government exMany museums partying. the animated tones pects even more this season as interest have closed their for which Cubans are doors, and a statefamed. sanctioned ban on There’s a sense that live music has shuthaving a good time tered concerts and nightspots includ- right now would be considered disreing the famed Tropicana nightclub. Old spectful to the memory of the man who Havana these days is eerily devoid of remade Cuba into a socialist state and the roving troubadours whose Buena wholly determined its fortunes from Vista Social Club croonings normally the 1959 revolution until severe illness echo through the cobblestone streets. forced him from power a decade ago.

And the 1950s classic cars that function “We are in mourning because the as collective taxis are doing without the president died,” said Manuel Ruiz, a usual reggaeton at max volume.

57-year-old parking attendant. “He is a Martin Sawicki, a 34-year-old accoun- man who deserves respect.” tant from Warsaw, Poland, said he was Amal Easton, a 46-year-old martial unable to visit the University of Havana arts instructor from Boulder, Colorado, or the Revolution Plaza, where Castro’s and his travel partner had planned to try ashes are to be on display starting Mon- to attend a Placido Domingo concert Satday. Workers there have already cor- urday night until they heard it was canwww.canadianinquirer.net

CRISTIANO BARNI / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

explodes due to detente between Havana and Washington.

On Monday the first commercial flights from the United States to Havana are scheduled to land. But with the national mourning in place through Castro’s Dec. 4 funeral, those passengers will still find relatively little to do other than sightsee and eat.

Palmer and Taylor, the Londoners, spent Sunday roaming the city and checking out its colonial architecture.

They jiggled the door of the National Fine Arts Museum in the afternoon, but it was closed. They figured they would head to Revolution Plaza the next day in hopes of seeing the mass tributes to Fidel.

“That could potentially be I guess the profound moment, or kind of one of the highlights of the trip,” Taylor said. “I think if we don’t see any of that, we’ll just feel a bit sad that we’ve not seen the real Havana.” ■

36

Travel

The resurgence... is the snob appeal of being able to own and appreciate the best in music reproduction.

There, is, however, a downside. I’ve met audiophiles who have invested hundreds of thousands of pesos on their sound systems, but own only a handful of discs: the inevitable “Jazz at the Pawnshop,” a Telarc demo CD, maybe Eva Cassidy’s “Songbird.” ❰❰ 26

members appreciate analog.

There’s a sensibility, a certain level of practicality. Whether its tubes or solid state, however, the primary thing is the enjoyment of the music. Walang purists.”

Generous culture

Online groups and social media networks have also allowed its members to participate to a degree in the creation of the music that they Fun again love.

T h a n k f u l l y, It’s no coincithe pendulum dence that the seems to be Not too long live entertainswinging the ago, you ment for the Hifi other way, back could still Show was Aparto enjoyment of find vintage tel; both Buendia music. gear in flea and Jay Ortega, “The emermarkets and his cohort in the gence of audio surplus shops funk’n’soul outforums has made at rock-bottom fit, are audiobeing an audioprices. Now philes and active phile fun again,” they fetch members of Ausaid Bobby Coexorbitant dio Pilipinas. loma, a member amounts In fact, some of the Audio Pilion eBay, members of the pinas Facebook and there forum were ingroup who flew is a thriving strumental in the in from his job trade in used band’s decision in Singapore for equipment to release their the show. “It’s among local debut album, become a social audiophiles.

“Inner Play,” as a thing.” limited-edition, The online foaudiophile-qualrum has helped ity double LP. create a real The forum actcommunity, he ed as consultants added, where members can in producing the album, says share information and resourc- Halili. Members, some of whom es, trade equipment and music, are audio professionals, sugand indulge their shared pas- gested that the records be cut at sion.

45 r.p.m. instead of the usual 33 “The most important thing r.p.m., for increased dynamic to the group is the music,” says range and better bass and treble Reggie Halili, one of the mod- response. erators of the forum, which “This has something to do started only last April. with the culture of the group,” “Whether it’s analog or digi- he adds. “The group is very gental, whatever the format, it’s erous. The main thing is, OK, really the music,” he added. “It we enjoy music, let’s share it just so happens that a lot of the with others.” ■

DECEMBER 2, 2016

FRIDAY

Art and nature intertwined at massive Brazilian park

BY MAURICIO SAVARESE The Associated Press BRUMADINHO, BRAZIL — Smack in the middle of lush eucalyptus forests in Brazil’s heartland, Inhotim Park offers visitors a mix of sensations rarely combined into one experience: art and nature.

With more than 700 works of art by more than 100 artists, there is plenty to contemplate.

And because those works are spread out across 400 acres, in a forest with over 5,000 species of plants, there is plenty of time to enjoy nature, or reflect on a work you just saw, while going to the next.

The park is so sprawling that many people take golf carts from one installation to the next — and even such rides take at least five minutes.

“Speed is the enemy of good taste and perfection,” said mining tycoon and park founder Bernardo Paz in a recent interview with The Associated Press. “The beauty here is more or less the ideal of happiness.”

Inhotim (pronounced INYO-TCHEEM) has become one of the most important art centres in Latin America since opening 10 years ago. It has reached international acclaim thanks to the mix of nature and exhibitions of globally known artists like Chris Burden, Adriana Varejao and Cildo Meireles.

Some of the most popular displays include a suspended bronze tree made by Italian Giuseppe Penone and a pavilion where visitors can hear sounds

of the earth from 200 metres (yards) down via microphones, a work created by American Doug Aitken. There is also a braid-shaped piece by Tunga that was the first work by a contemporary Brazilian artist shown at the Louvre museum in Paris.

“This is a very special place.

I was here before and this time I brought my girlfriend,” said Humberto Nogueira, 25, who works in advertising in Sao Paulo. “Everyone should come.”

Two million people have visited the park in the last 10 years. But despite its popularity, park administrators worry about sustainabili t y going forward.

Brazil, Latin America’s largest economy, is mired in its worst recession in decades, which means Brazilians have less money to travel — even in their own country. The park’s off-the-beaten-track location, 414 miles (667 kilometres) north of Rio de Janeiro, cuts both ways: the remoteness makes it both attractive and relatively hard to get to. And the upkeep of the park, which includes 1,000 staff members, is expensive (park authorities declined to say how much).

Looking for new sources of revenue, the park has begun experimenting with renting itself out. The first glimpse of that came earlier this month, when Inhotim opened a space for indie culture festival MECA and

allowed hundreds of people to spend the night in their tents.

The event, which organizers said was a success, included Grammy-award winner Caetano Veloso.

A luxury hotel is also being built inside the park. Currently, there are only a few hotels in the closest city, Brumadinho.

Many visitors prefer to stay in Belo Horizonte, Brazil’s sixth largest city, 37 miles (60 kilometres) away.

There are also plans to build a theatre, an amphitheatre and a new pavilion. Also proposed: stand-alone lofts so visitors can enjoy a serene overnight stay, or even rent out a unit long-term.

Antonio Grassi, the park’s executive director, says they also want to host debates and facilitate innovative art projects. But making changes “has been a very tough fight,” he said. “Our capacity to draw sponsorship of private companies has been affected during this crisis. Our challenge is to keep looking for alternatives.”

If You Go...

Inhotim: http://www.inhotim.org.br/en/. Open TuesdaySunday. Admission: 25 Brazilian reals ($8 U.S.) Tuesdays and Thursdays; 40 Brazilian reals ($12 U.S.) Fridays, weekends and holidays. Free on Wednesdays.

Getting there: Located just over an hour from downtown Belo Horizonte, where a bus for the park leaves at 8:15 a.m.

Vans leave from Belo Horizonte for the park on weekends and holidays, 60 Brazilian reals ($17 U.S.), organized by Inhotim’s travel agency, Oturi. Email: reservas@oturi.com.br. ■

Japan’s Hokkaido ski resorts: Deep snow, nude hot springs THE ASSOCIATED PRESS THE SKI.COM website is offering trips from the U.S. to ski resorts on the Japanese island of Hokkaido this winter for the first time.

Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island, is famous for deep powder on mountains covered

with birch trees. Thirty to 50 feet of snow a year is not unusual.

Off the slopes, cultural experiences include participating in a traditional tea ceremony and soaking in an onsen, which is a bath fed by natural hot springs.

Onsens are typically separated by gender and visitors bathe in the nude.

Visitors usually fly from To-

kyo into Hokkaido’s Chitose airport, then drive to one of the island’s many resorts. Skiers often spend time at more than one resort in the same visit. Ski.com is offering trips to four of the resorts: Niseko, Furano, Rusutsu and Kiroro, located a half-hour to three hours from the airport.

Hokkaido’s largest city, Sapporo, is known for beer and ramen. www.canadianinquirer.net

“Skiing in Japan is much different than skiing in North America and Europe,” said Ski. com spokesman Dan Sherman, who skied in Hokkaido last winter. “While Niseko has been a popular destination for Australians for several years, the other three resorts are less Westernized, for those looking for the Japanese experience.”

Sherman said that “in addition to the amazing food, friendly people and overall fantastic cultural experience ... most skiers are considering going to japan because they want to ski amazing powder snow — something for which most diehard skiers will find is worth travelling halfway around the world.” ■

Food

FRIDAY DECEMBER 2, 2016

How far can you reduce sugar in a pavlova?

Surprisingly low

BY MELISSA D’ARABIAN The Associated Press PAVLOVAS ARE dreamy. For the uninitiated, a pavlova (named after the famed ballerina’s fluffy tutu) is essentially a meringue shell baked at low heat until the outside is barely golden crisp, but the inside remains soft and billowy, like a creamy marshmallow. The shell then is typically filled with whipped cream, custard, or fruit compote.

And, as mentioned, the result is a dream-come-true. Pavlovas are a splendid choice for entertaining, because contrary to what we might think of a delicate meringue, these guys are pretty hardy, and you can make them a day or two in advance no problem. Just be sure to keep them in an airtight container so that they don’t absorb ambient air moisture and lose their delightful crisp texture, and top just before serving.

As you probably know, meringues are primarily two ingredients: egg whites and sugar. In this the good cop/bad cop pairing, sugar is definitely the bad cop, while egg whites are considered downright health food by many folks who look like they know what they are talking about at the gym. (They aren’t wrong, by the way, one egg white has 5 grams of protein, at only 25 calories and no fat.)

The sugar is what gives the pavlovas their luscious interior. So I wondered: Just how low I could go on the sugar without ruining the texture and creating just a weird protein puff that only my gym-friends would want to eat?

The answer: surprisingly quite low. A typical pavlova recipe might have a ratio of 1/4 cup of sugar per egg white in the recipe. I found that I could cut the sugar in half with no noticeable impact on texture and taste. So I kept testing and reducing the sugar. And the very lowest that yielded a reasonable result was a ratio of 2 teaspoons of sugar per egg white, or one-eighth the typical amount of sugar.

At that level of sugar, the pavlova becomes less flowy, and more airy and crisp, almost styrofoam-y. Two of my kids actually preferred this version!

Most of us felt like a little extra sugar was worth the nutritional profile impact, and so I’ll share that version — with 4 teaspoons of sugar per egg white, or 1/4 cup sugar to 3 egg whites as the recipe is written. Still, a dessert victory if you ask me.

Tangy raspberry pavlova with balsamic glaze

Start to finish: 90 minutes, including inactive time Servings: 8 • 3 egg whites • 1/4 cup sugar (The recipe will work with as little as 2 tablespoons of sugar, but texture of pavlova will be less lush.)

• 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar • 1 teaspoon corn starch • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional) Topping: • 1 cup light sour cream • 2 tablespoons maple syrup • 1 cup raspberries (or other fruit) • 1-2 tablespoons balsamic glaze (reduced balsamic vinegar) for drizzling • fresh mint leaves, chopped, for garnish (optional) Preheat oven to 275 F. In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat eggs on medium speed until foamy, about 1 minutes. Add the sugar and continue to beat on medium high speed until stiff peaks form. Add the vinegar, corn starch and extracts and beat on low until well mixed. (You can use a hand mixer, but times may be a little longer.)

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spoon the meringue into 8 even, round piles. Use the back of a tablespoon to spread the meringue into circles about 1/2-inch tall, and approximately 3-inches wide. Use the spoon to create a gentle depression in the centre of the meringue. Bake for 20 minutes.

Keeping the oven door closed, turn off the heat but leave the pavlovas in the oven for another hour. Remove the pavlovas from the oven and allow to cool completely. Stir the light sour cream and maple syrup together in a small bowl.

Remove from the parchment paper gently. Place the pavlova on a plate and spoon 2 tablespoons of the cream into the centre. Top with berries and a drizzle of balsamic glaze. Top with a sprinkle of mint leaves, if desired.

COOK’S NOTE: Pavlovas can be kept in an airtight container for up to three days. If they get soft from sitting out on the counter too long, you can crisp them up by heating in 275 degree oven for 15 minutes and then cooling.

Nutrition information per serving: 99 calories; 24 calories from fat; 3 g fat (2 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 10 mg cholesterol; 42 mg sodium; 15 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 12 g sugar; 4 g protein. www.canadianinquirer.net

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Food

DECEMBER 2, 2016

FRIDAY

Recipes for walnut and bean pate, pomegranate-marinated kebabs THE CANADIAN PRESS NAOMI DUGUID brings alive the ancient food culture of Persia in her new book “Taste of Persia: A Cook’s Travels Through Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, and Kurdistan.”

She has compiled nearly 125 recipes from home cooks and tested them back home in Toronto with ingredients available locally. She also includes sources in an annotated bibliography if people need to order something online.

Many of the recipes are quite simple with few steps and don’t require “huge kitchen skills,” says Duguid.

“These are not extraordinary ingredients, but the consequences are so great,” she says of many of the dishes.

Herbs are key to many dishes in Persian cuisine.

“Fresh herbs are used almost like a seasoning. They’re on the table in the same way we have salad greens and it’s really nuanced layers of flavour.”

Though fresh herbs often have more clout, with mint the intensity of dried is often preferred.

Duguid also suggests putting a dab of mint oil on top of a soup before serving. “It just makes anything pop. Like putting a squeeze of lemon, differently, like brightening.

Here are a couple of recipes to try from Duguid’s “Taste of Persia.”

Walnut and bean pate

Duguid learned to make this lobahashu, a dish from the Lori region of Armenia, which borders on southeastern Georgia, during her travels and loves to tote it to potlucks.

“It’s pale pink because it’s cooked kidney beans and walnuts in a food processor with some garlic and a little oil, herbs and salt. That’s it. It’s especially good if you make it a day or two ahead. You take it to a party.

It’s vegan and it’s very satisfying and looks pretty. This was a fabulous discovery,” she says.

Duguid likes spreading it on bread or scooping it up with crackers. Serve as an appetizer or a snack. Or she puts this out as part of a meal, another hit of flavour available on the table.

• 500 ml (2 cups) walnuts or walnut pieces • 3 garlic cloves, minced • 1 l (4 cups) cooked kidney beans (see Precooked Beans Habit below) • 30 ml (2 tbsp) sunflower or olive oil • 7 ml (1 1/2 tsp) sea salt • Generous grinding of black pepper • About 125 ml (1/2 cup) chopped fresh dill, tarragon or coriander, or 7 ml (1 1/2 tsp) dried mint Place walnuts in a wide heavy skillet over medium heat and toast, stirring frequently so they don’t scorch, until aromatic, about 5 minutes. (The recipe learned in Armenia did not include this toasting, but it assumed locally grown superb walnuts; the toasting helps bring out the flavour of the nuts.) Let cool for 10 minutes, then transfer to a food processor and process to a fine texture. Add garlic and beans and process to a smooth puree. Stop occasionally and scrape down sides of bowl to ensure all beans are incorporated.

Turn mixture out into a bowl, add oil, salt and pepper, and stir thoroughly. Stir in herbs.

Serve at room temperature.

Refrigerate any leftover pate in a well-sealed container for up to 5 days.

Makes about 1 l (4 cups).

The precooked beans habit

Some beans take a long time to cook, and that can take them out of play if you’re in a rush.

But if you have cooked them ahead they can help you get food on the table very quickly. Duguid likes to cook a large pot of beans, unseasoned, and freeze them, with their cooking liquid, in 500-ml (2-cup) batches. That way she has a stash of beans in

the freezer that she can quickly transform into soups or stews.

Wash about 750 ml (3 cups) dried beans, place in a tall heavy pot with water to cover by 5 to 7.5 cm (2 to 3 inches) and bring to a vigorous boil. (A pressure cooker is quicker, if you’d prefer to use that.)

Partially cover, reduce heat to maintain a steady boil and cook until beans are tender. Navy beans take a generous hour; kidney beans and chickpeas can take 2 hours or more, depending on how dried out they are.

Black-eyed peas take about an hour, and split peas and whole mung beans the same.

Check beans occasionally to make sure the pot isn’t running dry, and add more hot water as needed. Once beans are fully cooked, you’ll have about 2 l (8 cups) soupy beans (about 1.5 l/6 cups beans and 375 to 500 ml/1 1/2 to 2 cups liquid). Leave unseasoned until you want to use them.

Let beans cool to room temperature before transferring them, with their cooking liquid, to well-sealed containers. Label and freeze.

If you want to use canned beans instead of homemade, drain and rinse beans, place in a pot with about 125 ml (1/2 cup) water, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes or so. Check to see that beans are tender. Let cool to room temperature, in their liquid, before using.

Pomegranate-marinated kebabs (Torshe Kebab)

The combination of walnuts and pomegranate molasses is classic in Georgia and northern Iran.

This Persian marinade serves two purposes spectacularly.

First, it makes the meat extremely tender. Second, it gives it an extraordinary flavour. The remaining marinade can also be www.canadianinquirer.net

cooked up and used as a sauce for the rice.

Although Duguid’s first choice for the kebabs is lamb, she often makes some with beef to accommodate those who prefer it. Serve with plain or flavoured rice and a plate of herbs, as well as a chopped salad if you wish.

In Persia, an herb plate is often set on the table. It can consist of fresh radishes, green onions and cucumbers along with various herbs. “You just include a little with a mouthful in the same way you’d put mustard or some salt and pepper. It’s another way of freshening,” says Duguid. “It’s like when you’re eating pho, Vietnamese soup, you can add some fresh basil or something. It’s up to you. You’re in charge.”

• 1 kg (2 lb) boneless lamb or goat shoulder, or boneless beef top round or hanger steak, cut into approximately 2.5-cm (1-inch) cubes Marinade • 250 ml (1 cup) walnuts or walnut pieces • 125 ml (1/2 cup) pomegranate molasses • 5 ml (1 tsp) sea salt • 2 garlic cloves, mashed or minced • 30 ml (2 tbsp) sunflower or extra-virgin olive oil • 125 ml (1/2 cup) minced fresh flat-leaf parsley (optional) • Sugar (optional) • Fresh tarragon leaves (optional) Accompaniments • Herb Plate: Scallions and sprigs of fresh mint, tarragon or basil • Rice Marinade: Place walnuts in a food processor and pulse to chop to smaller than raisin size. Add remaining ingredients and pulse to blend. Transfer to a large bowl.

(Alternatively, very finely chop

walnuts and pound to a coarse powder in a large mortar. Add remaining ingredients and stir to blend thoroughly.)

Add meat to bowl and stir, turning to make sure all surfaces are coated with marinade.

Cover and set aside to marinate for at least 1 hour or as long as overnight; refrigerate if marinating time is more than 2 hours.

Bring meat to room temperature before grilling.

Preheat a charcoal or gas grill.

Brush off most of the marinade clinging to meat and reserve marinade. Thread meat onto metal skewers so that pieces are barely touching each other, not crowded together; this helps the meat cook evenly. Place skewers 10 to 12 cm (4 to 5 inches) from coals or flame and grill, turning occasionally, for 7 to 12 minutes, depending on heat of fire and desired degree of doneness.

Alternatively, you can broil meat: Preheat broiler with a rack about 12 cm (5 inches) below it. Line a baking sheet with parchment or lightly oil it. Place pieces of meat on sheet and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, turning meat at halfway point and checking for doneness after 7 minutes.

While meat is grilling, or once removed from grill, pour marinade into a small saucepan, add about 125 ml (1/2 cup) water and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste and season with salt if you wish; if it is too tart for your taste, stir in 5 ml (1 tsp) of sugar or more to taste. You might want to stir in some tarragon leaves once it comes off the heat. Pour into a small serving bowl.

If you grilled kebabs, you can either remove meat from skewers or simply serve it on skewers. Set out platter of herbs, rice and sauce for the rice.

Makes 6 generous servings. ■

39

FRIDAY DECEMBER 2, 2016

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DECEMBER 2, 2016

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