filipino star - december 2016 edition

Wishing all our readers Happy Holidays, MerryChristmas and a wonderful, Happy New Year

Impact of Trump’s election still asubject of speculation and concern

Happily posing for a souvenir of Gilmore College International’s Christmas party and year-end get together are students, alumni,teachers, MMTV crew, with their family and friends. (Photo taken by Al Abdon, Hollywood Junkies), December 3, 2016.

The November 8, 2016 U.S.election has been hailed as the mostcontroversial, divisive campaign inhistory. For the first time, a manwithout any political experience waselected as the 45th president of theUnited States. Many people couldhardly believe that the candidate whoused unconventional tactics andtough language would win theelection. His opponent, formersecretary of State Hillary Clinton wasleading the polls and expected to winas she was considered a better choiceand highly qualified. But during thelast few weeks, she suffered from thenever-ending controversy about here-mails. The FBI director wrote toCongress about a new allegation thather e-mails might be linked to the e-mails of the ex-husband of herassistant. Then two days before theelection, she was cleared but it wastoo late. Damage had been done, andshe never recovered from thisunfortunate episode. Donald Trump, areality celebrity, a billionaire withdealings around the world, won byhaving 306 electoral votes againstHillary Clinton’s 232 even though shereceived more popular votes.

Protests all over the UnitedStates erupted almost immediatelyafter the results were announced.“Trump not my president” was mostlyon placards of protesters because offear of mass deportations, racialconflicts. and their disapproval of thehateful rhetoric that Trump employedin his campaign. For almost twoweeks, the protests became aneveryday subject of the media.moreover, some reliable sourcespredicted that these protests maycontinue even during his inaugurationon January 20, 2017.

The President-elect wasinvited to drop in at the White Housejust two days after the election.President Obama with Vice PresidentJoe Biden at his side, acknowledgedthe disappointment many areexperiencing across the country in thewake of Trump's victory but said it'stime for people to come together.

"Everybody is sad when theirside loses an election, but the dayafter, we have to remember that we'reactually all on one team. This is an

See Page 4 Trump electionSteven Bannon, chief political adviser, President-elect DonaldJ. Trump and Reince Priebus, chief of staff.

Volume XXXIV No. 12 December 2016

December 20162 The North American Filipino Star

FRANK BAYLISDéputé / MP

Pierrefonds – [email protected]

(514) 624-5725

HON. STÉPHANE DIONDéputé / MPSaint-Laurent

[email protected](514) 335-6655

HON. MARC GARNEAUDéputé / MP

Notre-Dame-de-Grâce – [email protected]

(514) 283-2013

ANTHONY HOUSEFATHERDéputé, Mont-Royal

MP, Mount [email protected]

(514) 283-0171

DAVID LAMETTIDéputé / MP

LaSalle – Émard – [email protected]

(514) 363-0954

ALEXANDRA MENDÈSDéputée / MP

Brossard – [email protected]

(450) 466-6872

Nous vous souhaitons un

et une

We wish you a

and a

Best wishes fora Happy Holiday

season! May2017 bring you

health andhappiness.

Pierre ArcandDéputé de/ MNA for Mont-Royal

[email protected], rue Jean-Talon Ouest

bureau 310Montréal (Québec) H4P 1W7

Tél. : 514 341-1151Téléc. : 514 341-4777

Avec les hommages de David Birnbaum, Député deD’Arcy-McGee

Adjoint parlementaire du ministre de l’Éducation etde la ministre de l’Enseignement supérieur

BBeesstt wwiisshheess ffoorr aa MMeerrrryy CChhrriissttmmaass aanndd aa HHaappppyy NNeeww YYeeaarr

David Birnbaum, MNA for D’Arcy-McGeeand Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister ofEducation and the Minister of Higher Education

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Viola Desmond chosen as the Bank NOTE-ablewoman to be featured on new $10 bank noteFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMedia Relations613-782-8782Gatineau, Quebec8 December 2016

Governor Stephen S. Poloz, Minister ofFinance Bill Morneau and Minister ofStatus of Women Patty Hajdu todayannounced that Viola Desmond will befeatured on a new $10 bank note,expected in late 2018. This will markthe first time that a portrait of aCanadian woman will be featured on aregularly circulating Bank of Canadanote.

Desmond, an icon of the human rightsand freedoms movement in Canada,was selected from a short list of fiveiconic Canadian women by MinisterMorneau, in accordance with the Bankof Canada Act. A successful NovaScotia businesswoman, she is knownfor defiantly refusing to leave a whites-only area of a movie theatre in 1946.She was subsequently jailed, convictedand fined. Her court case was the firstknown legal challenge against racialsegregation brought forth by a Blackwoman in Canada.

“Today is about recognizing theincalculable contribution that all womenhave had and continue to have inshaping Canada’s story. ViolaDesmond’s own story reminds all of usthat big change can start with momentsof dignity and bravery,” said MinisterMorneau. “She represents courage,strength and determination—qualitieswe should all aspire to every day.”

Joining Governor Poloz and MinistersMorneau and Hajdu at the CanadianMuseum of History for theannouncement was one of ViolaDesmond’s sisters, Wanda Robson.

“It’s a big day to have a woman on abank note, but it’s an especially big dayto have your big sister on a bank note.Our family is extremely proud andhonoured,” said Robson, who wasinstrumental in making Desmond’sstory widely known.

The selection of Viola Desmond is thefinal step in the #bankNOTEable

campaign to choose an iconicCanadian woman to appear on thisnew bank note. Last spring, an opencall for nominations launched by theBank yielded more than 26,300submissions from across Canada,resulting in 461 eligible candidates. Anindependent Advisory Councilcomposed of eminent Canadianacademic, sport, cultural and thoughtleaders narrowed down the list to fivecandidates for consideration by theMinister of Finance.

“Canadians were extremely engaged,which made our consultation processvery successful,” said Governor Poloz.“Through this exciting process, withevery mouse click or turn of a book’spage, with every kitchen tablediscussion or classroom debate,Canadians learned more about theiconic women who built Canada.”

Minister Hajdu said, “Manyextraordinary women could have beenon this next bank note, and the searchand decision-making process wereextremely thorough. The choice ofViola Desmond reminds us thatCanada is a diverse country whereeveryone deserves equality andrespect.”

Notes to Editors:This new $10 bank note will reflect thebroader themes of social justice andthe struggle for rights and freedoms. Itwill be the first note in the next series.The introduction of the Viola Desmond$10 note provides an opportune time tobreak from tradition and feature otherprominent Canadians who have madetheir mark on the history of our country.

To continue to celebrate more iconicCanadians, the next $5 note will alsofeature a new Bank NOTE-ableCanadian. In due course, the Bank willlaunch another consultation process toseek input from Canadians on thedesign of that $5 note, building on thesuccesses of this most recent process.Since Viola Desmond will be featuredon the $10 note and another iconicCanadian will be featured on the future$5 note, Canada’s first Prime Minister,Sir John A. Macdonald, and our firstfrancophone Prime Minister, Sir WilfridLaurier, will be honoured on ourhigher-value bank notes. This changewill take place when the higher-valuenotes are redesigned for the nextseries. These changes mean thatformer prime ministers William LyonMackenzie King and Sir Robert Bordenwill no longer be portrayed on banknotes.

The $20 denomination will continue tofeature the reigning monarch.Additional biographical informationabout Viola Desmond is available on

the Bank’s website.View the Heritage Minute video aboutViola Desmond, courtesy of HistoricaCanada.

Download photos from today’s eventon the Bank of Canada’s Flickr gallery.Find out more about the selection andpublic consultation process that led tothe choice of Viola Desmond and theapproach to Canada’s next series ofbank notes.

Additional biographical informationabout the Advisory Council members isavailable on the Bank’s website.Find out more about our Principles forBank Note Design.Consult the Bank of Canada’s banknotes web pages.Please note: At the request of thefamily, media wishing to speak withViola Desmond’s relatives are kindlyasked to contact the Bank of CanadaMedia Relations team.Content Type(s): Press, PressReleases

The current ten-dollar note is dominantly purple in colour. The front features aportrait of Canada's first Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald, and a metallicimage of the Library of Parliament. The reverse side shows Via Rail's train, theCanadian, with the Canadian Rockies in the background; this is accompaniedby a Via Rail route map. Yellow dots representing the EURion constellation canbe found on both sides. As well as textured printing, this design includesBraille dots for the blind indicating the denomination as a new tactile feature.

December 20164


The Federal Bureau of Investigation(FBI) and the National Intelligencehave backed a CIA assessment thatRussia intervened in the presidentialelection to help Donald Trump win,according to US officials.

Director of the FBI James Comey anddirector of the National IntelligenceJames Clapper’s support for the CIA’sconclusion suggests the leaders of thethree agencies are in agreement onRussian intentions, counter tosuggestions that the FBI disagreedwith the CIA.

CIA Director John Brennan reportedlysaid in a message to the agency’sworkforce: “Earlier this week, I metseparately with (Director) FBI JamesComey and DNI Jim Clapper, andthere is strong consensus among uson the scope, nature, and intent ofRussian interference in ourpresidential election.

“The three of us also agree that ourorganisations, along with others, needto focus on completing the thoroughreview of this issue that has beendirected by President Obama andwhich is being led by the DNI.”

The CIA said on Friday it had evidencethat showed a link between thehacking of Hillary Clinton's emails andRussia, while officials from multipleagencies found connections betweenthe Kremlin and Wikileaks.

Mr Trump and his transition teamdismissed the findings, while JohnBolton, a former US ambassador to theUN, even claimed the hack might havebeen a false-flag operation.

President Barack Obama said hehopes the President-elect will makesure U.S. doesn't have “potentialforeign influence” in elections.

Demonstrators chant slogans as they march up Fifth Avenue in NewYork during a protest against the election of President-elect DonaldTrump, Nov. 12, 2016.

intramural scrimmage. We're notDemocrats first. We're not Republicansfirst. We are Americans first," he said.

He continued, "This was a longand hard-fought campaign. A lot of ourfellow Americans are exultant today. A lotof Americans are less so, but that's thenature of campaigns. That's the nature ofdemocracy. It is hard and sometimescontentious and noisy. It's not alwaysinspiring.”

At 11:00 a.m. on November 10,the President and President-elect held aprivate, 90-minute meeting at the WhiteHouse, which was followed by a jointmedia availability in the Oval Office witha press pool composed of journalistsfrom Reuters, Voice of America,Bloomberg, the Associated Press,Agence France-Presse, ABC News, andMcClatchey syndicate. During the pressconference, Trump thanked Obama fortheir meeting and said he looked forwardto tapping him for future counsel.According to Trump, Obama convincedhim, during their discussion, to retaincertain aspects of his signature policyObamacare, including the ban oninsurance companies denying newcoverage to those with preexistingconditions and the right of parents tokeep their adult children on their healthinsurance policies to the age of 25.

Right from the start, Trump’sdecision to choose Steven Bannon ashis top adviser had upset many peoplebecause they see him as America’swhite nationalist, accused of usingmisogynistic, anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic,and barely hidden racist languagethroughout his professional life.

The controversy over Bannon,makes people wonder: Will the Trumpadministration be a normal presidency— or will it be the kind of far-right,boundary-pushing thing many fear? Andif a Trump White House normalizesracially charged rhetoric the way hiscampaign did, will the Republicanestablishment eventually decide to pushback?

Some surprising details aboutTrump’s appointments to his Cabinetseem to show the difference betweenTrump the candidate, and Trump thepresident-elect . For example,“DONALD TRUMP THE CANDIDATEcampaigned on protecting the wages ofAmerican workers. In announcing hisagenda for the first 100 days, he said hewould task his Department of Labor to“investigate all abuses of visa programsthat undercut the American worker.” Buthis transition team doesn’t reflect thatperspective.when they tried to appointsomeone who recruits cheap laborersbut changed only when a news reportcriticized it. Next, the Trump team chosefast food executive Andy Puzder — anoutspoken proponent of legalizingundocumented workers so they canprovide cheap, low-skilled labor — to bethe administration’s Labor Secretary.

Now, Trump has brought yetanother promoter of cheap foreign laboronto his Labor landing team, announcingon Monday that it has picked DianaFurchtgott-Roth, who is a fellow at theright-wing Manhattan Institute.

Furchtgott-Roth has longadvocated in favor of America’stemporary worker visa programs,arguing that they fill in gaps inemployment. Writing in the New YorkSun in 2008, she argued that arrests of

undocumented workers by immigrationofficials proved that “Congressauthorizes too few visas for foreignworkers, far fewer than the numberemployers want and need to hire to keeptheir businesses running.”

Many appointments by thePresident-elect elicit controversies andconcerns particularly in the EPA sectorbecause he has said that “globalwarming is a hoax.”

ENVIRONMENTALISTS HAVEBEEN rightly focused on the fact thatclimate deniers Scott Pruitt, Trump’s pickto run the Environmental ProtectionAgency, and Cathy McMorris Rodgers,whom he is expected to nominate for theDepartment of the Interior, coulddevastate the Clean Power Plan, theParis Accord and, through them, nationaland even global progress on climatechange. But Trump’s picks could“permanently damage the country’swaters, too.”

A survey of news reports aboutthe President-elect making his choicesto complete his cabinet underlines thecontrast of his campaign rhetoric againsthis actual decision making in thetransition period.

An interesting advice by a writeron what to do to counteract the Trumpagenda gives us an insight into the roleof ordinary citizens to protect our rightsand freedom. According to John Cassidyof the New Yorker, there are 9 steps tofollow:

1) Go to change.org and join the 4.9million people who have signed apetition calling on members of theElectoral College to reject Trump.2) Attend the Women’s March onWashington, which will take place onSaturday, January 21st.3) Contribute to organizations that willoppose Trump and the Republicanagenda4) Support independent journalism.5) Get engaged on a personal level.6) Contact your congressman andsenator and tell them to stand up toTrump. 7) Support local initiatives to resist theTrump and Republican agenda. 8) Support electoral reform9) Be smart: violence would only helpTrump.. Trump reiterated his promisesof bringing back jobs to the UnitedStates during his thank you tour. Thequestion remains though: How will hedo this and will his intentions to backout from trade deals accomplish hisobjectives of bringing back the jobs lostdue to cheap labor abroad?

Changes in the U.S.presidency may reverse someprevious ones related to Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The director ofIsrael’s Mossad spy agency, YossiCohen, has secretly met with USPresident-elect Donald Trump’stransition team, according to reports.

With Donald Trump's Cabinetnearly filled, it appears many of thenominees are older, white males whoare wealthy - much like the president-elect himself.

Trump, who has criticizedWashington for being controlled byspecial interests, has largely eschewedtechnocrats with extensive governmentexperience, building a team of bossesinstead.

After repeatedly calling to

From Page 1 Trump election

FBI backs CIA view Russia intervened to helpDonald Trump win presidential electionMr Comey's support for CIA's conclusion suggestsleaders of the three agencies are in agreement onRussian intentions

James Comey, FBI Director

'drain the swamp' of Washington,Trump has chosen titans of businessand finance from the likes of ExxonMobil and Goldman Sachs, rather thanthe intellectuals, lawyers, andacademics sought by some pastpresidents.

Among the cabinet nomineesare also no fewer than three retiredgenerals.

To formally confirm Trumpselection, an electoral college votingwas held on December 20, 2016.There were some protests anddemonstrations similar to the onesafter his election was announced lastNovember. However, there were onlya few electoral college voters whochanged their minds and did not votefor Trump.

Perhaps, the speculationsabout Trump, the president-elect, may

not all be true, once he has beeninaugurated but it is really difficult tosay if our concerns are unfounded.

There are many reasons forcritics to believe that the conflict ofinterest allegations, and the policiesthe new administration may pursue arenot only going to be controversial butmay also be harmful to theenvironment, immigration reform, andto the general welfare of the workingpeople that voted for him.

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5The North American Filipino StarDecember 2016

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December 15, 2016 | Politics &GovernmentSource: The Guardian

Controversial leader – who hasendorsed extrajudicial executions ofdrug offenders – says he killed to showpolice officers ‘if I can do it, why can’tyou?’

Rodrigo Duterte has announced hepersonally killed suspected criminalswhen he was mayor of his home city ofDavao in the Philippines, cruising thestreets on a motorcycle and “lookingfor trouble.”

The country’s president made thecomments in a speech late on Mondaynight as he discussed his campaign toeradicate illegal drugs, which has seenpolice and unknown assailants killaround 5,000 people since he becamepresident on 30 June.

“In Davao I used to do it personally.Just to show to the guys [policeofficers] that if I can do it, why can’tyou,” he was quoted as saying by AFP,talking of his two decades as mayor ofthe southern city of 1.5 million people.

“And I’d go around in Davao with amotorcycle, with a big bike around, andI would just patrol the streets, lookingfor trouble also.

“I was really looking for a confrontationso I could kill.”

On Wednesday the justice secretary ofthe Philippines, Vitaliano Aguirre II,said Duterte often exaggerated hisrhetoric to get a message across tocriminals. “The president alwaysresorts to hyperbole; he always

exaggerates just to put his messageacross,” Aguirre told reporters.

The former mayor was nicknamed“Duterte Harry”, after the fictional andruthless police inspector played byClint Eastwood, for his support forvigilante death squads that killedhundreds of suspected criminals.

Duterte previously has both deniedand acknowledged his involvement inthe Davao death squads.

Since taking his bloody anti-crimecampaign to the nation level, he hasbeen criticised by the United Statesand United Nations, whose concernshave drawn only angry rebukes.

“If they say that I am afraid to stopbecause of the human rights and guysincluding Obama, sorry, I am not aboutto do that,” Duterte said in Englishduring his speech at the presidentialpalace this week.

Duterte has a better relationship withUS president-elect Donald Trump, whohe said had praised his war on drugsduring a phone call this month. Thiswas not confirmed by Trump’s team.

As president Duterte has publiclyencouraged civilians to kill drug addictsand said he will not prosecute policefor extrajudicial executions. But he hasalso said he and his security forces willnot break the law.

In October Duterte compared himselfto Adolf Hitler and said he would be“happy to slaughter” three million drugaddicts.

He later apologised for the Hitlerreference but said he was “emphatic”about wanting to kill the millions ofaddicts.

Since his election, police havereported killing 2,086 people in anti-drug operations. More than 3,000others have been killed in unexplainedcircumstances, according to officialfigures.

Often masked assailants break intohomes and kill people who have beentagged as drug traffickers or drugusers. Human rights groups havewarned of a breakdown in the rule oflaw with police and hired assassinsoperating with impunity.

A report by the Guardian in Octobercited a senior officer in the police forcewho claimed he led one of 10 specialoperations teams, each with 16members, tasked with killingsuspected drug users, dealers and

criminals.

The officer claimed the hit squads arecomposed of active police officers andthat the murders are conducted in sucha way as to make them appear to beperpetrated by “vigilantes” todeliberately obscure policeinvolvement and precludeinvestigation.

The report was later denied by thechief of police. Duterte has insistedpolice are killing only in self-defencewhile gangsters are murdering theother victims.

But he has also said he will not allowany police officers to go to jail if theyare found guilty of murder inprosecuting his war on crime.

Agence France-Presse contributed tothis reportReprinted from Global Balita

Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte says hepersonally killed criminals

Mayor Duterte biking around Davao City

Adopt an addictDecember 15, 2016 | Opinion

GLIMPSES By Jose Ma. Montelibano

drug-addictionWhen it comes tostatements from our President, I tendto take things literally. Later, hissubalterns would often be found tryingto clarify, to explain further, or to givetheir own interpretation. When they do,I also try to rearrange my previousunderstanding. And because this hashappened quite frequently, I haveevolved my own way of understandingwhat the President is trying to say.

For me, it is not first and foremostabout liking or disliking Rodrigo R.Duterte. Being partisan and emotionalabout a person does not allow meeven a reasonable level of objectivity.It may be a personal weakness, but Isuspect that it is more a humanformula that partisanship andemotionalism equal non-objectivity. Itdoes not mean that in the process,especially towards or at the end,judgment and emotion do not seep in.I just try to keep this after, not before, Igo through my private assessment.

Rodrigo R. Duterte is not a simplesubject of study for me even though Ido try to understand what makes himtick. He is my President, the only one

President until he is so. I am a Filipinocitizen and Rodrigo. R. Duterte is thePresident of all Filipinos. Even thoughhe may have some actuation that seemto contradict this, it is just a simple factthat he is our President, we whom helikes, we whom he does not like, wewho like him and we who don’t. He isour President. We are his people. Thisis the basic horizon I use when I try tounderstand, when I try relate toPresident Duterte.

Therefore, when he recently said,“Adopt an addict,” I assume he wasbeing literal. Of course, I also know thathe said this in the context of mountingcomplaints about the unexplainedkillings of victims suspected of beingdrug peddlers. And the same newsreports say that he meant thestatement, or suggestion, of adoptingan addict to those who werecomplaining about the killings. Myunderstanding and interpretation areformed from all these factors. At theend of my assessment, I agree that thespirit of the message of adoptingaddicts, meant or not, is the verysuccinct answer to many controversies.

The President has said thatapproximately one million drug

dependents and small-time drugpushers, overwhelming from the sectorof the poor, will have surrendered bythe end of this year. He has also said inhis more recent talks that there may befour million drug dependents in thecountry. Until there are more crediblefigures that can be presented to thecitizenry, I am assuming the numbersto be the most accurate. And when I tryto understand the micro and macro ofthe illegal drug situation in the country,these numbers are what loom large inmy mind. They are the context fromwhich I proceed to think and createopinions.

Early on, when the number of drugdependents and pushers whosurrendered were just in the tens ofthousands, even before Rodrigo R.Duterte officially took his oath of office,it was clear that the traditional facilitiesfor drug rehabilitation from both thegovernment and private sector wouldnot be able to accommodate thesurrenderees. It was also clear, at leastto me, that unexplained killings wouldnot stop as long as the players of thedrug industry, from drug lords to drugprotectors to drug dependents, believe

See Page 13 Adopt an Addict

December 2016


The North American Filipino Star6

By W G QIAMBAO

Listening to Peter Lavina, deputycabinet secretary of President RodrigoDuterte, talk about the big changes inthe Philippines was a breath of freshair. For the past few months, Filipinosglobally have been hearing andreading negative news about Duterteand the Philippines.

He discussed various subjects – fromthe reasons why Duterte ran forpresident to his plans in the next sixyears.

“Filipinos were looking for solutions tothe problems in the Philippines,” saidLavina. “They were tired of the “trapos”that dominated the country. Changes

were needed. These were the reasonsthat motivated Duterte to run forpresident. He received a lot of supportfrom passionate and determinedoverseas workers who turned up indroves to support him. There were noopportunities in the Philippines. ManyFilipinos left their families and worked

abroad where they were unhappybecause of different cultures andlanguages . They were worried aboutthe safety of their children they leftbehind. Are they safe? Are theyinvolved in drugs? “Now that Duterte is in power, hecreated a new office, calledparticipatory, in his office because hewanted the people to get involved inrunning the government, “ hecontinued. “ If our government is acorporation, we all have rights asstakeholders but unfortunately, theFilipinos don’t exercise those rights.He also wanted to regain the trust ofpeople. Four months ago, people wereafraid of the police and soldiers.Slowly, the police and soldiers areregaining the trust of the people.And there’s no more greeting at the

custom “Merry Christmas” although it’snot Christmas.”

Furthermore, Lavina pointed out thatthe Philippines has an elite democracy.“The rich become richer and the poorbecome poorer. This is the kind ofsociety that our president wants to

change. Other countries like Vietnamand Cambodia are developing now butthe Philippines is still left behind.Recently, we went to Ottawa and mettwo senators including Tobias Envergaand about ten members of theParliament including AnthonyHousefather. We were asking for goodparliamentary government practicesthat we can apply in the Philippines ”

Peace–building is another topic thatLavina broached up. “The Philippinescan’t progress if there is an internalconflict. To achieve this, our Presidentinvited a communist leader to talkabout the Mindanao issue and atemporary suspension of warrant ofarrest. In the past, ceasefire happenedonly on Christmas”.

Some of the questions and answersafter his speech were the following:

Q. Tell us positive things about DuterteA. Don’t believe what western andcommercial media are writing. Themedia are supposed to be the FourthEstate but they abandoned theirresponsibilities. They were biased. Thepresident was talking with them for twohours but all they wrote were the badthings. The government is looking forpartners, instead of rivals. We arereaching to people because for us to

succeed, we need partners. Thepresident won the election, in part,because of the volunteers. Whatmatters in the Philippine election arethe people, not the money.”

Q. Is the Philippines cutting ties fromthe United States?

A. The Philippines is not againstAmerica. It is just separation fromforeign policy. We just want to makeour own decision when it comes toforeign policy. We are a sovereigncountry. We want to start on our own.”Lavina’s story about the Yolandatyphoon in 2013 elicited laughter whenhe confessed that the donations ofmoney and goods were not receivedby the intended recipients. “This is thereason why the President was hesitantto ask for help during the Lawintyphoon.”

His final message hit home with thecrowd when he said that we shouldstop the crab mentality and fighting.“We should think now of our mothercountry. When it is necessary for us tobe united, we should do it. That is theonly way we can progress and getrespect globally. It has been a longtime that we don’t get any respect fromother countries.”

“There’s still hope for thePhilippines,” says Lavina, DeputyCabinet Secretary of Duterte

“I had a normal childhood, lovingparents, “ Shibash voice cracked as herecalled his sad experience .”I wasyoung when I started drinking andsmoking weeds. Over the years, I gotinto heavy drugs. I used cocaine. Mylife had become a downward spiral. Iwas spending $100 a day. To supportmy vice, I started committing crimesuntil I was caught by the police. Butthat was the best thing that happenedto me because I realized I had tochange.

“It’s not fun to be on drugs. You loseyour self-respect. It messes yourrelationship with your family andfriends. What helped me is the supportI got from my family and friends. It isimportant to talk about my addictionwith people who will understand me.

For four months, I am sober. I plan tobe sober all my life. I am on probationnow for two years. Shibash is a drug addict whovolunteered to talk at the seminar ofthe Council of Canadian FilipinoAssociations of Quebec on Nov. 6 at6767 Cote des Neiges.

“Drug addiction is a major problem notonly elsewhere but everywhere, ” saidGerry Danzil, president of the Councilof Canadian-Filipino Associations ofQuebec. “We are doing this seminar tohelp and warn our kababayan of thedanger of alcohol and drug addiction.”

Drug addiction is a chronic , oftenrelapsing brain disease that causesimpulsive drug seeking and use,despite consequences to the drug

addicts and those around them. Another volunteer is Martin, 28 yearsold, who got hooked on drugs at theyoung age of 13. “Drug addiction is acompulsion. I started drinking, thenusing marijuana. It’s a disease. I waslying to my parents but they eventuallyfound out about it. What helped mewas their surveillance. They werechecking on me from time to time.Now, I’m taking medication and seeinga psychiatrist.

Some of the reasons why people usedrugs: 1) Suffering from anxiety,bipolar disorder, depression or mentalillnesses. 2) People see familymembers, friends and entertainers asrole models and rationalize that theycan do too. 3) People use drugs andthink they can ease their sufferings.

4)People use drugs to forget painfulmemories. 5) People get physicallyinjured unintentionally get hooked onprescribed drugs

Some of the symptoms of drugaddiction are: paranoia, dilated pupiland changes of behaviors. The Drug and Alcohol and CaregiverImmigration Law seminars were heldNov. 6 at 6767 Cote des Neiges.Financial Investment seminar wasconducted also at the same place lastOct. 23. Lecturer was Prime America.

CCFAQ Conducts Addiction Seminar By W.G. Quiambao

MMTV host Tenne Rose Dayandante interviewing Deputy SecretaryPeter Tiu Lavina after his speech to the Filipino community, Nov. 3/16

Philippine Ambassador Petronila Garcia poses for souvenir withMMTV Crew and Deputy Secretary Lavina, from left to right: AlAbdon, the Ambassador, Derwin Collantes,Tenne Rose Dayandante,the Deputy Secretary and Edward Ujvary.

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JOYEUSESFÊTES

HAPPY HOLIDAYSTO ALL OURCUSTOMERS

MAY KARAPATAN BA ANG MGAPULIS NA MANIKTIK SA MGAREPORTER?

Kamakailan ay nabunyag ang malingpamamaraan na ginagamit ng mgapulis upang makuha ang source ngimpormasyon ng mga reporter sapagbabalita. Ito ay ang paniniktik ospying.

Ang La Presse columnist na si PatrickLagace ay tinitiktikan ng Montrealpolice (SPVM) upang malaman angkaniyang source sa isinusulat niyangbalita tungkol sa mga pulis nagumagamit ng pekeng ebidensiya.May hinala ang mga pulis na kasamanila mismo ang nagbibigay ngimpormasyon. Tinitignan ng mga pulisang iphone ni Lagace kung sino angtumatawag sa kaniya, sino angkaniyang tinatawagan at kung saansiya nagpupunta.

At noong September naman, kinuhang Surete du Quebec ang computer niMichael Nguyen ng journal deMontreal upang malaman kung saanniya kinuha ang isinulat niyang balitatungkol sa isang judge na ini-imbestigahan. May paniniktik dingginawa ang mga pulis sa tatlo pangreporter ngayong taong ito.

Ginagawa ng mga pulis ang ganitongparaan ng paniniktik upang hindilumabas ang mga balitang makasisirasa kanila o mga taong gusto nilangprotektahan.

Sa pagsusulat, kailangan sabihin ngisang reporter ang pinagmulan ngkaniyang balita at kung sino angnagbigay upang maging kapani-paniwala ang kaniyang isinusulat.Subalit may pagkakataon na hindikailangang sabihin ng reporter angkaniyang source upang pangalagaanang kapakanan at kailigtasan nito.Minsan, nangangako ang reporter sakaniyang source na hindi niya itoibubunyag. Kapag nasira ang reportersa kaniyang pangako, sira na angkredidilidad niya. Paano pa tatawaginng isang tao ang reporter upang ibalitaang isang bagay na kailanganmalaman ng publiko o tinatawag napublic interest kung naka-tapped angtelepono ng huli?

Naniniwala ako sa sinabi ni Lagace nahindi dapat tiktikan ng mga pulis angreporter maliban na lamang kungnasasangkot ang national security omalaking krimen. Dapat alam ng mgapulis ang patakarang ito.

Dahil sa nangyari, ninais ng Montrealpolice brotherhood na bumaba na satungkulin si Montreal chief PhilippePichet dahil pinabayaan niyangmaniktik ang kaniyang mga tauhan.At kailangan din malaman kung sino -hukom, pulitiko o justice of peace –ang nagbigay ng warrant of arrest samga pulis na maniktik sa mgareporter. May pananagutan din sila.

PINAYAGAN NG SUPREMECOURT NA ILIBING SI MARCOSSA LNMB

Malaking tuwa ang naramdaman ngmga kamag-anak ng dating pangulongFerdinand Marcos dahil pinayagan ngSupreme Court na ilibing siya saLibingan ng mga Bayani. Dalawangbeses nang ipinagpaliban ang balakna ito. Ang mga nalungkot at nagalit ayang mga taong laban sa desisyon ngSupreme Court. Sila ang mga kamag-anak at kaibigan ng mga taongpinahirapan, dinukot at pinatay noongpamumuno ng dating pangulongMarcos.

`Hindi pa tapos ang isyung ito,”sabi niBarry Guitierrez, lider ng mga nag-proprotesta laban sa desisyon ngSupreme Court. “Pag-aaralan naminang susunod na hakbang.

Ang biktima ng martial law na si FelixDalisay ay nagsabi naman,“Sisiguraduhin kong hindi mababalotng luha ang libingan ni Marcos. Sahalip, mababalot ito ng dura.” Hindi ko sila masisisi. Hindimapaghihilom kahit nang mahabangpanahon ang walang katumbas napaghihirap ng mga nagdusa noongpanahon ng martial law. May magsabina upang magkaroon ng closure,kailangang aminin ng mga Marcosesang ginawang pagpapahirap ng datingpangulo sa mga tao at pagnanakaw sakaban ng bayan. -PERA BA ANG NANAIG SAELEKSYON NG AMERIKA? Sa pagkapanalo ni Donald Trump saeleksyon ng pagka-pangulo ngAmerika, marami ang nagulat at hindimakapaniwala. Naalaala ko ang sinabini Peter Lavina, deputy cabinetsecretary ng Pangulong RodrigoDuterte, noong magpunta siya ritokamakailan, “Sa eleksyon sa Pilipinas,ang mahalaga ay ang tao, hindi angpera”. Bilyonayo si Trump kaya nanaigsiguro ang pera. Kapwa maykapintasan si Trump at Hilary Clinton.Ang nakasira kay Clinton ay ang emailat Clinton Foundation scandals at siTrump naman ay ang pang-iinsultoniya sa mga babae, immigrante, ang

hindi paglalabas ng income tax atmarami pang iba. Higit sa lahat, siyalamang ang naging kandidato sapagkapangulo na walang hinawakanposisyon. Pera kaya ang nagpatakbosa nakaraang eleksyon o hindi pahanda ang Amerika sa babaengpresidente? Maaari namang sawa naang mga Amerikano sa democrats atgusto nila ngayon ang republicans.

MAHAHALAGA ANG MGASEMINARS NA GINAWA NGCCFAQ

Noong Oct .23 ay nagbigay ngseminar sa 6767 Cote des Neiges angCouncil of Canadian FilipinoAssociations of Quebec tungkol sa

financial investment. Panauhin nilangtagapagsalita ang kinatawan ng PrimeAmerica. Sumunod naman angseminars tungkol sa Drug Addiction atImmigration Laws noong Nov. 6.Parehong ginawa ang mga ito saganoon ding lugar.

Marami na palang mga pagbabago saImmigration Laws. Halimbawa, puedena palang mag-sponsor ng mgaillegitimate na anak. Ipakita lamangang katunayan, tulad ng DNA test.Magkakaroon muli ng seminar samalapit na hinaharap ang FCCAQtungkol dito kaya tiyakin ninyo nadumalo. .

Media representatives, OFW organizations in Quebec andMontreal and the Phlippine Embassy cooperated in organizing atown hall meeting at 6767 Cote Des Neiges with Deputy CabinetSecretary Lavina, November 3, 2016.

December 20168


The North American Filipino Star

Ask theVideo Guy

Technological Tidbitsby

Al Abdon

I can never resist giving adviceto cameramen and photographersthe basic rules of composition. I havebeen taking pictures for almost fourdecades and still I have to learn moreabout the rules of thirds on differentscenarios from wedding videographyup to being a cameraman at thebroadcast studio at MaTV.

This is the way we looked into it.

Your frame is your canvas — fill it withthings that are useful to your story andarrange them in a way that is pleasingto the viewer.

Composition is the art of arrangingobjects in a frame. There are actuallyshapes and alignments that peoplefind pleasing, but a movie compositionalso needs to tell a story. Thearrangement of your objects andactors in a frame can add to your storytelling by emphasizing some and de-emphasizing others. In a big-budgetHollywood film, the director has theexpert input of a director ofphotography. In smaller budgetmovies, the director often does adouble duty.

“Framing and editing determine theeye path of the viewer. It might not betoo much to say that what a filmdirector really directs is his audience'sattention.” – Alexander Mackendrick“On Filmmaking”

If you're doing everything right, everyframe of your movie should be able tobe plucked out at random, stuck in aframe and hung on a gallery wall. Thisis a tall order and few people succeedin it without lots of time, big budgets,great editors and patient investors.Your budget and timeline may keepyou from doing this, but there arethings you can do from the verybeginning to make sure that yourmovie looks as good as it can.

Video and PhotosThe rules of composition are the samefor video and photos, but likeeverything else, it's complicated. Putsimply, the aspect ratio — vertical vs.horizontal dimensions — of stillcamera images is different from theaspect ratio of motion pictures.The aspect ratio of 35mm film is 3:2,which is why you get a 4x6 inch print.The aspect ratio of most video is 16:9,which is much wider and not as tall. A16:9 frame means that landscapeslook fantastic but putting a single

person in the frame is morechallenging. For the most part, peopleare vertical objects and most of yourframe is going to be empty. So what do

you fill the empty space with? That'scomposition.

In MotionOne other obvious thing that affectsthe composition of a movie frame is thefact that things are not only moving init but sometimes through it and oftenyour camera frame itself is moving.This means lots of rehearsals.Actors moving through a frame haveto hit their marks at extremelypredictable times, and your cameraoperator needs to accommodatemotion through the frame and motionof the frame all the while keeping apleasing arrangement that drives thestory.

The rules — or more exactly,guidelines — of composition hold truefor film, painting and still images alike.All this said, can you get a book about

still image composition and use it asthe basis of your movie composition?Absolutely. The rules — or moreexactly, guidelines — of compositionhold true for film, painting and stillimages alike.

The Rule of ThirdsIt's the fundamental rule ofcomposition. Divide the screen intothirds with four lines — like a tic-tac-toegame — your objects of interest shouldfall at the intersection of two of theselines. Some cinematographers aremore rigid about it than others, but it'svery possible to find a movie whoseevery shot does not deviate from this.

We mentioned before that people arevertical and movie screens arehorizontal — this means that to get aperson in a frame you need to eithermake them very small, or crop them.Both of these are perfectly acceptable.Unlike in the real world, in cinematicand photographic composition, youcan chop the top of someone's headoff with impunity. This is not true ofpeople's chins — chins need to stay inthe frame unless you crop an equalportion of the top of the head.

The Eyes We look at people's eyes. Weinstinctively look at what other peopleare looking at. We have a deep downbelief that the person inside a body isaccessible through the eyes — andthis is universal. When your cat oryour dog wants to communicate withyou, they look at your eyes — andthey haven't read any psychologybooks. When framing a shot, if theeyes are in focus, you can get awaywith a lot of other things not being infocus.In this shot from “Raiders of the LostArk,” Harrison Ford returns, here seencompletely in silhouette with theexception of his right eye, lookingwary, which, along with his distinctive

hat brings personality to the shot. Alsonotice the out of focus white areas onthe left and right, these serve to helpbalance the frame. “Balance theframe?” you ask

Balance and SymmetryImagine your frame as a shadow boxthat you're putting items into and thatsits on a fulcrum in the center.Balancing the left and right sidesnormally gives off a feeling ofharmony, and an unbalanced frameone of tension. While going counter tothe rule of thirds, sometimescompletely symmetrical framing withthe object of interest in the exactcenter can be used extremelyeffectively.Some directors are slaves tosymmetry and when used properly, itcan be extremely powerful. One of themost arresting users of symmetry wasStanley Kubrick, who put the rule ofthirds in the back seat and replaced itwith an on obsessive adherence tocenter framing and symmetry, givingus some incredibly powerful imagesthat depict order so perfect it becomessomewhat menacing.

Balance doesn't have to besymmetrical though; objects on oneside of the screen can be balancedwith objects on the other side of thescreen that aren't their mirror image.In this still from “Pulp Fiction” we haveBruce Willis on the left hand side ofthe screen, but the frame is balancedby the license plates. You'll notice the

same thing in both the frames from“Blade Runner.”

Leading LinesWe follow lines like roads. Leadinglines are usually imaginary lines thatgo from one object to another to drawour attention from a main object offocus to a secondary one. Going backto Ridley Scott's “Blade Runner,” wehave a perfect example of leadinglines, and this time they're actuallylines. The bannisters lead ourattention right to the people on the leftside of the screen. Note also thestrong use of the rule of thirds and thepost in the foreground to providebalance.

Depth of FieldThe camera can emphasize what'simportant and de-emphasize otherthings by using depth of field (DOF) —the area of a shot that's in focus.Depth of field can either be deep,meaning everything's in focus — likethe Kubrik image from “2001” — or itcan be shallow, meaning few thingsare in focus — like both the shots ofHarrison Ford from “Blade Runner”and “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Alsonotice, in the close-up of Ford from“Blade Runner,” the use of the out offocus building in the background tobalance the frame.

ConclusionThere are lots of books oncomposition, but a really good way tostudy is to watch good movies.Websites like Film-Grab.com showrepresentative frames from dozens ofmovies, allowing you to see thethemes of composition across entirefilms at a glance. How are yourfavorite directors using depth of field?How rigorously do they adhere to therule of thirds? How do they usecentered subjects to create tension oruse leading lines to guide your eye? Pay attention to composition whileyou're watching movies and televisionadding to the mood of the scene.

HAVE A BLESSED MERRYCHRISTMAS AND A JOYEOUS NEWYEARZZ

ANNOUNCEMENT:I will be giving a workshop on DigitalPhotography using your camera/smartphones/tablet or iPad this comingJanuary 2017. The workshop will be 2hours of practical/theoretical lectureson the use of your device for 5sessions. At the end of the workshop,each student should present their ownwork and to be used in their portfolio.This class is sponsored by theQuebec Association of CanadianFilipino Teachers as part of theirongoing project.The fee is $30 for the whole workshopor $5 per session. For info: Call 514-264-8706

The rule of thirds - composition



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Joyeuses FêtesHappy HolidaysMerry Christmas and a

Happy New Yearto all our customers

Favorite Food for the Holidays

IngredientsTurkey1 fresh or frozen turkey, defrosted, 14-16 lbs5 carrots5 celery stalks3 small onions1 fennel bulb12 Yukon Gold Potatoes2 bay leavesto taste Herbes de Provenceto taste kosher salt and freshly groundblack pepper1 recipe Pumpernickel and SourdoughStuffing, Brine (optional)8 L water1 cup coarse salt1 cup white sugarPan Gravyreserved roasted turkey pan drippings1/4 cup flour1/4 cup butter5 leaves fresh sage1 cup Madeira or Cognacto taste kosher salt and freshly groundblack pepper

PreparationFor Roast Turkey with VegetablesPlace turkey in brine for 24 hours priorto use, if desired.Preheat oven to 350°F. Place rack tolower quarter of the oven.Peel and slice into large bite-sizepieces: carrot, celery, onion and fennel.Quarter potato. Combine vegetables,season lightly with salt, pepper andHerbes de Provence.Remove giblets and neck from theturkey cavity and reserve for pan gravy.Rinse turkey inside and out, drain andpat dry with paper towel. Season turkeyinside and out with salt, pepper andherbes de provence.Place thoroughly cooled stuffing in theneck and chest cavity, pressing firm tofill all gaps. Truss turkey with kitchenstring, breast side up, legs tied at theknuckle, tuck the wings under the bird.Place vegetables and potatoes inroasting pan, add giblets and bayleaves. Add 2cups of water to roastingpan. Place turkey on top, tent with foil.Place in oven and roast, estimating 20minutes per pound. Check liquid levelwhen basting, add water if necessary.Baste turkey hourly until thermometerinto the thickest part of the thigh, awayfrom the bone, registers 175°F.Remove turkey from roasting pan, coverloosely with aluminum foil and rest for atleast 20 minutes before carving.Remove vegetables and potatoes, coverto serve with turkey, remove bay leaves.Brining Method (optional)Heat the ingredients to dissolve, coolcompletely before submerging turkey,cover and refrigerate for 24 hoursRemove turkey from brine, discard brine,pat dry with disposable paper towelFor Pan GravyTo make roux, add butter to sauce pan,heat until slightly browned, add flour andstir until combined, remove and chill.(Adapted from Steven & Chris)

Suggested serving presentation

Remove turkey dripping, set aside,skim off excess fat.Bring the roasting pan to medium-highheat. Deglaze pan with Madeira,slightly reduce to remove alcohol.Add turkey drippings to the roastingpan, heat thoroughly, scraping thebottom.Strain through fine sieve into saucepan.Add sage and the butter/flour mixture(roux) and whisk until desiredconsistency.Reduce to simmer, remove sage, checkseasoning.

Paella (Rice with seafood)

INGREDIENTS1 large onion, finely chopped5 tablespoons olive oil2 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste orfinely chopped2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped1/2 teaspoon sugarSalt1 teaspoon pimentón dulce (or sweetpaprika)A good pinch of saffron threads4 cleaned small squid, bodies slicedinto 1/4-inch-wide rings, tentacles leftwhole2 cups medium-grain Spanish paellarice or risotto rice, such as Arborio orCarnaroli3 cups fish or chicken stock, plus moreif needed1 cup dry white wine12 jumbo shrimp in their shells16 mussels, scrubbed and debeardedPREPARATIONFry the onion in the oil in a 16-inchpaella pan until soft, stirring often. Stir inthe garlic, and before it begins to color,add the tomatoes. Add the sugar, salt totaste, pimentón (or paprika), andsaffron, stir well, and cook until thetomatoes are reduced to a jammysauce and the oil is sizzling. Add thesquid and cook, stirring, for a minute orso. Add the rice and stir well until all thegrains are coated. (You can prepare thedish to this point up to an hour inadvance.)Bring the stock and wine to a boil in asaucepan. Pour over the rice, bring to aboil, and add salt to taste (even if thebroth tastes a bit salty, it will not besalty when it is absorbed by the rice).Stir well and spread the rice out evenlyin the pan (do not stir again). Cook therice over low heat for 18 to 20 minutes,moving the pan around and rotating itso that the rice cooks evenly. Lay theshrimp on top after 10 minutes and turnthem when they have become pink onthe first side. Add a little more hot stocktoward the end if the rice seems too dryand you hear crackly frying noisesbefore it is done. When the rice is done,turn off the heat and cover the pan witha large piece of foil.Steam the mussels with a finger ofwater in a pan with a tight-fitting lid. Assoon as they open, they are cooked.Throw away any that have not opened.(Adapted from Epicurious)

Recipes for the Art andLove of CookingCompiled by Zeny Kharroubi


www.filipinostar.orgwww.filipinostar.org

The North AmericanFILIPINO STAR PHOTO GALLERY

Mila Taccaban with her children, a souvenir of being named Mrs. Santa Clauseat a party held recently.

Better late than never - Christmas party and get together - Arlene Manalo Dayag,Remayette Danao, Zenaida, Kharroubi, Hernani Cantor and Grace Somera - camefrom another party on the same night as Gilmore’s party, December 3, 2016.

MMTV Crew - Fred Narvas, Amy Manon-og, Al Abdon, Jovy Narvas,Zenaida Kharoubi, Michael Davantes, Fely Rosales Carino, Ella Agustin

Just about to hop over to another party the same night, Mila Taccaban (left)poses for souvenir with Zenaida Kharroubi, Fely Rosales Carino, Ma. AsuncionPosada and Tessie Calica, December 3, 2016.

Gilmore College International - teachers, students and alumni - during theChristmas party and year-end get together, December 3, 2016.

Philippine government Deputy Cabinet Secretary Peter Lavina listens intently toCDN/NDG Borough Mayor Russell Copeman who is reading a letter addressed toManila Mayor Estrada regarding the twin city project to be pursued moreactively in the coming year during his visit on November 4, 2016.

Photo shows some community leaders and the Philippine Ambassador PetronilaGarcia who accompanied Deputy Cabinet Secretary Lavina during his visit tothe CDN/NDG Borough Mayor’s Office, November 4, 2016.

Mutya ng Pilipinas-Montreal 2016 pageant. From left to right: RoxanneJolie Tenorio, Jeanne Nicole Valencia, Neriza Gail Ladrillono, CarinelleSundrie Ariz. Not in the picture is Bryahna Gabriella Escrupulo.



Wishing you allSafe and Happy

Holidays

December 201612



Philippine Ambassador Petronila Garcia, Deputy Cabinet Secretary Peter Lavina,Borough Mayor Copeman, and Councilor Marvin Rotrand held a brief meetingand presentation of a letter addressed to Manila Mayor Estrada with referenceto the revival of the Twin City agreement signed in 2004. (November 4, 2016)

Personal delivery - Letter from the City of Montreal in Canada to the City of Manilafor sister city ties received at the City Council of Manila by Vice Mayor HoneyLacuna-Pangan. Montreal will host on May 15-17 the Global Public TransportSummit 2017 and would like to assist Manila address its traffic woes.

By Caroline MallariThe Kapampangan Associa-

tion of Montreal held its Mutya ngPilipinas-Montreal 2016 pageant lastOct. 22 at College de Brebeuf.

The event commenced with“oohs and aahs” from the audience ascurtains opened and greeted them withthe amazing stage backdrop of KAMMutya ng Pilipinas-Montreal 2016.

Following were the winners:Jeanna Nicole Valencia, Mutya ng

Pilipinas-Montreal, Miss Popularity,Best in Theme Wear, Best in Talent,Best in Interview, Best in EveningGown; Neriza Gail Ladrillono, MissLuzon, Miss Charity; Roxanne JolieTenorio, Mutya ng Visayas, MissPhotogenic, Miss Friendship; CarinelleSundrei Ariz, Mutya ng Mindanao;Bryahna Gabriella Escrupulo, Mutyang Maynila. .

“The goal of KAM Mutya ngPilipinas-Montreal is not solely for

entertainment or for building skills andtalents of young children, but its focalmission is to reach out to people whoare in need”, said Corazon Punzalan,president of KAM. .

The proceeds of the eventswent to the following: ANCOP Canadato school from Third World Countriessuch as the Philippines, India, Kenyaand Nigeria, Concepcion North CentralElementary School Drum and LyreCorps; Pastora Divina Church andGood Thing Temple of Assembly inBalutu, Concepcion, Tarlac; Mexico

Church of Christ. . .Special guests were Greg

Marie Marino, 2nd Secretary andConsul of the Philippine Embassy inOttawa and city councillor LionelPerez. Armina Villafane-Bouchard, oneof the judges, rendered a beautifulsong. Thanks to Svetlana Suarez,program director, and JenniferCamposano, production. (See PhotoGallery on page 10 for the picture ofthe Mutya candidates).

VALENCIA BAGS MUTYA NGPILIPINAS-MONTREAL 2016 TITLE


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Winter is upon us! Itannounced itself tonight with the firstsnowfall of the season. Some just lovethe snow but if you’re like me, I won’tmind prolonging fall a bit longer. Well,let me start with the Phil-Can Lodge#137, which held their fundraising onOctober 15, 2016 at the Grand Lodge ofQuebec Building on Sherbrooke West,Montreal. From the start, the eveninghad a very different feel to it, boasting afriendly and relaxed atmosphere. Thoseparticipating in the program knew theirparts even without the usual cue. Afterdinner, the Right Worshipful Brother(equivalent to a President in otherorganizations) Marc David welcomedeveryone. In his welcome address heelaborated on their benevolentactivities. One notable recipient of thisorganization is The Shriner’s Hospital.

During the party, long timefriends who had not seen each otherenjoyed each other’s company. Amongthose spotted rounding up their friendswere Nico and Minda Mazzone, SophieToledo, Hildo and Amy Manon-og, andmany others. What made this eveningvery special was the Bingo game thatwere played between the speeches andmusical numbers. The MMTV crewenjoyed the singular hospitality of Masonmembers Pete Ison and wife Perla andFlor Rillo and wife Rose. Televisioncoverage was done by MMTV.interviewed by yours truly were Right

Worshipful Brother Marc David, Phil-CanWorshipful Master Jojo Valdez andJunior Warden Kenneth Solis, amongothers. Well, Phil-Can lodge officers andmembers – thank you for a wonderfulsocial evening!

The Salle Jacques-Maurice ofthe Jean-de-Brebeuf College at CoteSaint Catherine Street in Montreal wasthe venue that attracted many people ofall ages last October 22, 2016. On thisdate, the Kapampangan Association ofMontreal (KAM) held their Mutya NgPilipinas fundraising event. Fivebeautiful and talented Junior Missesparticipated.

Their ages range from 10-12years old, but from their photos in thesouvenir program, some thought thatthey were more mature than they reallyare – what with the poise and elegancethey exuded in their pictures. During thepageant, they walked, twirled, danced,and exhibited their talents before a panelof judges.

You should have seen theirbeautiful gowns, high-heeled shoes,elaborately coiffed hair, smashing smilesand their well-rehearsed display ofindividual talents. Glamour was the tallorder of the night!

The big winner of the eveningwas Jeanna Nicole Valencia (daughterof Jasper Valencia and JannetSampang) and earned the title Mutya ngPilipinas 2016-2018. She was crowned

by Marie-Isabel Elumbaring Therriault,the outgoing Mutya ng Pilipinas,Montreal 2014-2016. Jeanna alsobrought home the following awards:Best in Talent, Best in Interview, Best inGown and Best in Theme Wear.Impressive! And First Runner-up NerizaGail Ladrillono (daughter of FranciscoLadrillono and Maria Dezza Manalo)was crowned Miss Luzon. In addition,she was also named Miss Charity for herefforts in soliciting advertisements.Second Runner-up Roxanne JolieTenorio (daughter of Resty Tenorio andJanet Naval) was crowned MissVisayas. She also won the MostPhotogenic and Miss FriendshipAwards.

Third Runner-up CarinelleSundrei Aariz (daughter of Sunday Arizand Caribeth Leah Discusin) wascrowned Miss Mindanao. BryahnaGabriella Escrupulo (daughter of ArnelEscrupulo and Lina Ventura) wascrowned Mutya ng Manila. Of course,the success of this pageant is largelydue to the efforts of those behind thescenes such as helpers, consultants,choreographers and the like. Amongthem are the following: KAM PresidentCorazon Punzalan, PageantChairwoman and Director SvetlanaSuarez, Choreographer and singer Theade la Cruz, and Federation PresidentEpang Nicolas just to mention a few.

The auditorium was filled tocapacity. The young ones erupted intocheers as their favorite candidateappeared or made an exit.

This pageant was polished,professional and certainly enjoyable!

The Quebec Association ofCanadian Filipino Teachers (QACFT)couldn’t be outdone. They put theirreading glasses aside and held a“Halloween Disco” last October 28,2016 at the Grand Hall of the CRCCotes des Nieges, Montreal. The party

started promptly with QACFT PresidentTrans Liganor’s welcome speech. Thiswas followed by a non-stop Zumbadancing led by Richel Llacer and friends.A large segment of the dance floor wasalso occupied by avid line dancers.

All the while, disco judgesGylaine Thribault, Valent Lloyd Hughes,Richel Llacer and Gigi Bustamante werein search of a Disco King and Queen.After a series of trials, semi finals anddance finals , the judges declared Airyl-John Villanueva as Disco King andRichelle Calimlim as the Disco Queen.Good music provided by DJ Bernie ofGround Seven had the ‘young at hearts’dancing until closing time while thehappy seniors slowly trickled towardsthe exit just after dinner time.

And here is the new set ofQCAFT officers, Executive Board 2016-2018: Trans Liganor(President), AlAbdon (Vice President, Administrative),Esperanza Manaog (Vice President,Finance), Nenita Licyayo (Secretary),Lourdes Fagsao (Assistant Secretary),Elvira Estopa (Treasurer), EppieGevero( Auditor), Jocelyn Maldo(Assistant Auditor), John Linden &Arturo Javillonar (Directors forCommunication), Gliceria Ducyogen(Director for Membership), ElmaBulatao (Director for Referral and LegalDocumentation), Leah Baldelovar(Director for Educational Services),Melanie Somejo & Edward Ujvary(Directors for Youth and Sports),Valentina Datu-Lee & Flora Dela Cruz(Directors without Portfolio), JosephGonzales (Ex Officio). And here are theAdvisers: Fely Rosales-Carino, NatalieO. Pelausa, Procesa Gladysz, CarmenC. Caro, Nancy Karidis and ElsaMontealegre. See you next issue.

that the President is determined to rootout the problem. By his pronouncementsand his record in Davao City, allconcerned were afraid that they couldvery well end up dead. I concluded thatthe unexplained killings would not juststop, mainly because protectors in theillegal drug industry would naturally try toeliminate evidence against themselves.

The controversy about the killings isunderstandable to me. After all, so muchhas been said for or against. My biggerconcern, however, has always been whatto do with the one million surrendereesand the other three million who have notsurrendered but are using and peddlingdrugs. Consequently, I had written aseries of articles about this concern,focusing on community-drivenrehabilitation work as the only workablesolution to the great numbers of drugdependents. Also, I believe that acommunity response does not onlyrehabilitate drug dependents butstrengthens the communities themselvesagainst many other threats.

Taking the words of the Presidentliterally, “Adopt an addict,” and raising thesingular to the scale of drug dependentswhom he estimated at four million, I canonly concur with the intent and propose

that we, as communities, adopt our ownaddicts. It matters little if we know how torehabilitate drug dependents or not; whatis primordial is that we want to. Problemswith people, especially family members,perennially confront us. We may nothave degrees that technically prepare us,yet we naturally try to solve our problemswith one another. It is really less abouttechniques and methodologies and moreabout believing and wanting to do so.

The truth is, if we do not want peoplebeing killed summarily, then our firstresponse should be to care for them, toprotect them. We must expand ourunderstanding of family and friends to thecommunity, if not to the whole country.The numbers of drug dependents shouldmake us understand that it is closer tohome, if not already in it. I am not sayingthat we should be quiet and tolerantabout the killings, but ranting againstthem without doing our share in caringfor and rehabilitating drug dependents inour own communities does not seem agood substitute. After all, our principlesagainst the killings is grounded on thevalue of human life and it is simply inintegrity that we try our best in savingand restoring lives.

Let President Duterte be prophetic, then,in the noblest of ways, when he said,“Adopt an addict.” If we do, we might justsurprise him.

From Page 5 - Adopt an Addict

December 201614



Miss Philippines CatrionaGray made it to Miss World 2016’stop 5 held in Maryland, USA onDecember 18, Sunday (US time).

Puerto Rico’s Stephanie DelValle was crowned Miss World2016, followed by Miss DominicanRepublic Yaritza Miguelina ReyesRamirez and Miss IndonesiaNatasha Mannuela.

Alongside Gray in the top 5is Kenya’s Evelyn Njambi Thungu,according to ABS-CBN News.

Gray also bagged themultimedia award, placing her inthe Top 20.

During the question andanswer portion, Miss World 2015Mireia Lalaguna of Spain askedGray the qualities a Miss Worldwinner should posses, to whichCatriona answered, “I think first ofall it takes bravery. To be a MissWorld is to carry a burning torch. Itis like action carried out by one toilluminate the lives of many. I woulddedicate my whole self, my love forthe arts and my voice to trying touplift, empower and educatepeople. It would be my greatesthonor and duty to hold this torchhigh enough so that all the worldcould feel and see its light.”

The 22 year-old model ispart Australian, and was born inManila.

Gray is known as a finalist ofmodelling competition of Australianmagazine “Girlfriend” in 2007.

She moved to Manila afterfinishing high school to expand hermodelling career. At age 18, shewas renowned as one of Cosmomagazine’s eight sexiest models inthe Philippines.

The Philippines has onlywon the pageant once in 2013.Actress-model Megan Young wascrowned in Bali, Indonesia. �

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Miss Philippines Catriona Gray finishes in thetop 5 at Miss World 2016

(L-R): Finalists Miss Philippines Catriona Elisa Gray; Miss Dominican Republic Yaritza Miguelina Reyes Ramirez; Miss Indonesia NatashaMannuela; Miss Puerto Rico Stephanie Del Valle; and Miss Kenya Evelyn Njambi Thungu are pictured on stage during the Grand Final of theMiss World 2016 pageant at the MGM National Harbor December 18, 2016 in Oxon Hill, Maryland.

Catriona Gray



Enchong counts 2016 one of his best years yet

Actor Enchong Deeconsiders the last 12 months prettyawesome, most especially career-wise.

Aside from opening hisrestaurant and recording an album,he plays one of the lead charactersin the movie “Mano Po 7: Chinoy”

that opens in theaters nationwidetoday.

“Lagi ko ngang sinasabi’yung swerte naman nasa sa atinyan eh,” he said in a short interviewright after the advance screening ofthe Regal Entertainment offering.“Tayo ang gagawa niyan (swerte) sa

atin, so kapag walang nangyari(sa’yo) wala tayong ibang dapatsisihin kundi sarili natin.”

He plans to celebrate theholidays in Manila with his wholefamily. He also looks forward tosome backpacking around Asia withhis brother.

And next year? It’s off to anauspicious start for Enchong whoseTV series, “A Love To Last,” is set toair its pilot episode by January.

Moved onThough saddened at first by

the non-inclusion of “Mano Po 7:Chinoy” to this year’s Metro ManilaFilm Festival (MMFF), the feeling isnow but a distant memory.

“Tapos na eh. Kumbaga angpwede na lang naming gawin ayrespetuhin ang pagbabago saMMFF.”

All that said, Enchong is stillexcited for this year’s MMFF lineup,sharing that he plans to see some ofthe entries including “Seklusyon,”“Oro,” “Kabisera” and “SavingSally.”

He said: “Mahusay ’yungmga nakapasok na films and thistime nabigyan din natin ng bagongputahe ’yung mga manunuod natin.”

Working with JessyEnchong revealed he is now

more comfortable working withJessy Mendiola, his co-star in “ManoPo 7: Chinoy.”

They were paired prior in“The Reunion,” “Call Center Girl,”and “Your Song Presents:Boystown.”

On speculations that Jessy’srumored boyfriend, Luis Manzano,must’ve been slightly affectedseeing her love scenes with

Enchong in the film during theadvance screening, the latter finds itpreposterous.

“Nakakatawa nga, kasimagkasunod ’yung pagtanggal ngdamit ni Jessy tapos maririnig mosiya (Luis) ‘Magtanggal na rin kayaako ng damit.’”

He added, “I’m actuallyproud du’n sa ginawa ko, kasi alamniya (Luis) na may respeto ’yungpaghawak ko kay Jessy.”

“Mano Po 7: Chinoy” hasEnchong portraying a drug addict,something far removed from theusual “boy next door” role. Hewelcomed the change, deeming it achance to prove his versatility as anactor.

The handsome guy aims toaccept more offbeat roles in thefuture.

“Siyempre hindi mo namanpapabayaan ’yung mga proyekto nadarating sayo. Kahit ano pa yan,kahit katiting na role eh ayusinnatin,” he said.

LovelessBusy as he is, Enchong has

n o t i m e for romance. “Pahinga.Wala naman expiration date ’yan, so’wag natin madaliin,” he said.

Enchong called it quits withhis non-showbiz girlfriend early thisyear. They are on good terms, withEnchong sharing that she even senthim a video greeting on his birthday.

Asked for the possibility ofthem getting back together, he said,

“Meron na siyang panibagokaya bigyan na siya ngkatahimikan.”

He added, “Mahirap na dinmagsalita kasi siyempre may iba narin siyang boyfriend, so hayaan nalang natin.” �

Anne Curtis finally confirms engagementIt’s official! Actress Anne

Curtis is now the soon-to-be bride ofher longtime boyfriend, food bloggerand restaurateur Erwan Heussaff.

An emotional Anne sharedthe news to her “Showtime” familyand the viewers of the noontimeshow after her colleaguesserenaded her.

“It is with grateful and happyheart na I'd like to tell all of you that Iam engaged to the love of my life,Erwan Heussaff,” Anne said.

“We are both very happy toshare to all of you the great newsand being someone always in thepublic eye, I think it's very veryimportant that I'd share it with all ofyou which I did yesterday,” sheadded.

Anne and fiancé, Erwan,made headlines on Sunday after thetwo shared a travel video with a clipof their actual engagement in aforest. The celebrity couple did notannounce the proposal but only

shared the video with the public whowere elated with the news.

The Kapamilya actressthanked the public for theiroverwhelming love, support andwell-wishes. She then sought for hercolleagues' and fans’ support as sheembarks on her new journey asfuture “Mrs. Heussaff.”

“Sobra kamingnagpapasalamat po sa inyo. And I'mjust hoping until the end of thiswhole journey and as I enter the newchapter in my life kasama ko pa rinkayo,” Anne told her colleagues andviewers.

“Even when I become misisna [sana] patuloy pa rin ang suportaniyo,” she added.

Prior to Anne’s officialstatement, her “Showtime” co-hostAmy Perez posted a congratulatorymessage to her and Erwan with aphoto of the actress showing off herengagement ring. �

Enchong Dee

An emotional Anne Curtis shared the news of her engagement to her“Showtime” family.

December 201616



Moving people to tears andmaking girls swoon are things JerichoRosales does easily. But can he ticklefunny bone?

Fans will find out in the MetroManila Film Festival (MMFF) entry “AngBabae Sa Septic Tank 2:#ForeverIsNotEnough” where theactor stars opposite the awardedEugene Domingo.

If you will take director MarlonRivera’s word for it, then, yes, and asalways, Jericho delivers the goods.

“Pasok na pasok,” he said. “SiEcho noong hiningi ’yung comedy,binigay.”

Jericho downplayed thepraise, saying he can only be gratefulworking with both whom he respectsand idolizes.

“Si Direk and si Eugene, Ithink they’re game changers,” he said.“’Yung intellect nilang dalawa is what Ienjoyed the most while working on thefilm.”

Jericho considers it a blessingto have been given the chance toshowcase his funny side in this film.

“Pangarap ko itong gawin,” hesaid. “’Di ba puro drama (ako) so thistime around, I got to explore the otherside. I think it’s nice lalo na it came ata time na madami akong saloobin atnailabas ko ’yun sa trabaho.”

The actor didn’t have a hardtime delivering punchlines at all.

“’Yung script kasi magandatalaga. Intellectual pero ang dali momatatawa kasi swak talaga siya. So, itwasn’t hard. I actually had fun,” hesaid.

All about chemistryMarlon commends the

chemistry between Echo and Eugene,jesting, “Gumanda si Uge. I think ’yundin ’yung sikreto ng mga leading man.Si Uge, mukhang poodle doon, perodahil sa trato ni Echo nagmukhasiyang tao.”

Marlon is also satisfied withthe performance of Kean Cipriano andJoel Torre in “Ang Babae Sa SepticTank 2.” He hopes the MMFF juries will“recognize” this come awards night.

“I can’t ask for a better set ofactors. Sana mabigyan sila. I think allmy actors deserve to be recognized,was how he put it.

While the first movie was asatire on the indie film industry, thesequel parodies the romantic-comedygenre.

To those who might think thefilm is high brow, writer Chris Martinezinsisted, “Hindi po mataas, promise.Matino pero hindi mataas. Try niyolang kasi nakakatawa talaga.”

“Marlon Rivera did a fantasticjob. The cast members were all game.Hindi sila nagpapatawa, nakakatawasila. Uuwi ka ng parang hindi nalugi ornainsulto. Na-challenge ka din ngkonti pero hindi naman siya sobranglalim,” he added.

Jericho said, “Hindi duduguinang ilong mo dito. Pwede mo dindalhin ’yung mga linya sa bahay niyoat sa mga tropa mo.”

Marlon, who also directed“Enteng Kabisote 10 And TheAbangers,” explained how heapproached the two films.

“Magka-iba ’yung estilo kasimagka-iba ’yung materyales. Iba’yung hinihingi ng ‘Septic Tank,’ iba’yung hinihingi ng ‘Enteng.’ So, dahilmagkaiba ’yung condition for each,iba din ’yung nangyari,” he said.

“Napaka-visual ng pagkagawanitong ‘Septic Tank’ eh. May mgahugot, may mga kantahan, may mgapunchline. Hindi siya malalim peromatino,” the director added.

“Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank 2”also stars Khalil Ramos, Cai Cortez,Agot Isidro, and Ricci Chan. The movieopens in theaters on Dec. 25.. �

The comedian inJericho Rosales

Rhian Ramos is gratefuland fulfilled

Solenn Heussaff is excitedabout the Christmas season.

Aside from being one of herfavorite seasons, it is also her firstChristmas as a married woman tohusband Nico Bolzico.

Since the Kapuso actress isalso close to her family, she looksforward to spending the holidays with

them."Ang gusto ko sa Philippines,

mahilig tayong mag-decorate," shesaid about what she likes the mostabout Christmas in the Philippines."Kahit hindi pa Christmas, threemonths before Christmas na agad.You really feel the joy and spirit ofChristmas."

Although she also enjoyscooking meals, it is his brother Erwanand mother who takes care of thefood. Her favorite? Ham.

Solenn revealed that whenshe doesn't have work, aside fromworking out, she loves to cook andprefers to prepare everything fromscratch.

"Ako talaga ang namimili ngmga groceries, never akongnagpabili sa iba," she stated. "Masmaganda ang preparation kapagikaw ang personally na pumili ngpagkain mo."

Meanwhile, the Kapusoactress is thankful that her homenetwork GMA continually trusts her.Currently, she has four shows, twoairing in GMA, two others airing inNews TV Channel 11.

She's also busy preparing forher second art exhibit next year.. �

Rhian Ramos has been in thebusiness for 10 years now, and sheconsiders it a huge blessing to havehad the best learning experiences onthe job she has come to love – acting.

That is why, the blessing shehad been granted lately – asignificantly challenging assignmentin the movie “Silong” that in turngifted her with a Best Actressnomination at the FAMAS Awards –makes her immensely grateful.

Rhian says she only hasgratitude to the FAMAS board ofdirectors and jurors for hernomination in the best actresscategory for her offbeat role in“Silong.” The duality of the charactershe played in the movie waschallenging. She considers therecognition given by FAMAS as aconfirmation of her hard work. It canbe said Rhian successfully portrayedthis enviable role especially since thisis her second Best Actress

nomination for “Silong” after the StarAwards.

“I am truly honored to havebeen recognized alongside talentedthespians in this FAMAS nomination.Big deal nasa akin ito,” Rhian saidwith a big smile. “For ‘Silong’ to havereceived so many nominations fromthe award-giving body makes mereally happy. It’s also an affirmation ofthe team’s excellent job in thisproject.”

For the Christmas holidays,Rhian is also celebrating the inclusionof her indie 2D animation film “SavingSally” at the 2016 Metro Manila FilmFestival (MMFF).

She said it is a must watch notonly for kids but also for adults whohave passion for well-crafted movies.Rhian said it pleases her to be able tooffer moviegoers a simple love storywith a very refreshing treatmentonscreen.

“This is so different from theheavy drama projects I have donerecently,” she said.

Rhian added, “Those peoplebehind the movie started work 10years ago. I started shooting threeyears after. I am delighted and trulywonderfully surprised when I heardthe news that it was accepted as anentry in the festival. So, expect to seeme looking seven years younger inthis film.” �

Rhian Ramos

Jericho Rosales

Solenn Heussaff's 'extraspecial' Christmas

Solenn Heussaff



Jennylyn Mercado findsleading man for anticipated

This year has been a verychallenging time for Denise Laurel.The actress got a cancer scare backin June, then called off herengagement with professionalbasketball player Sol Mercado inOctober.

“Health is a constantstruggle. Hindi lang kapag nasabina clear ka, okay ka na. Kailanganbaguhin mo ang lifestyle mo," Laurelsaid when asked about her health. "Iam focusing on getting healthywhile working at the same time. Ihave cysts in my breast, my ovary.It’s not cancerous but I still have itthere.”

Laurel, however, refused togo into details about the currentstate of her relationship withMercado following their split.

“I already gave my words and I saidna just pray for us. He is a wonderfulperson, that’s all I’m going to say,”he said.

Is it possible for them tomaintain their friendship?

“Definitely. It’s also, to behonest, weird. We have beentogether for such a long time. I’d liketo think that we could be friends,”she said.

Despite all the bumps sheencountered in life this year, Laureldecided to just go with the flow andlet God lead her to the rightdirection.

“Kung saan niya akodalahin, doon ako. I don’t regretanything kasi kung ano angnangyayari, 'yun ang sinabi ni God,”she said. �

Denise Laurel considers2016 a challenging year

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Actress Jennylyn Mercado isteaming up with Filipino-Spanishmodel Gil Cuerva on GMA-7’s “MyLove From The Star” remake.

The hit Koreanovela is aboutan alien named Matteo Do, who hasbeen on earth for four centuries beforegetting involved in the life of modelSteffi Cheon.

“Laging may personal touch,laging nagbibigay ako ng a little ofmyself. Binibigay ko ’yung kontingattitude ko, buhay ko para magingeffective siya,” Jennylyn said ofplaying Steffi (originally portrayed byJun Ji-Hyun) during a live interview on“24 Oras.”

Her character, she added, isquirky and funny and “papatawaninnamin kayo na may konting inis.”

Gil admitted having mixed

feelings on bagging the big role as it ishis first-ever acting project.

“It’s a bit overwhelming but it’salso very exciting. It was also verysurprising kasi it’s all unexpected. I gotan email from my management toaudition for the role. Nagkataon na Iwas really going to come back to fixsome papers for my school and for myvisa. Pupunta din ako dapat saThailand, pero sabi ko, ‘I might as wellaudition and malay mo makuha ako,”he said.

Gil already has a gameplan forhis role.

“Ipapakita ko kung paano akomagmahal ng isang babae. I want toshow my romantic side and I want toportray kung paano magmahal angisang Pinoy through the character ofMatteo,” he said. �

Jennylyn Mercado and Filipino-Spanish model Gil Cuerva (Facebook)



PerryScopeBy Perry Diaz

When Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredoentered politics 2013, little did sheknow that within four years she’d bepropelled to the second highestposition in the country – the vicepresidency. Some people call it “fasttrack” ascension; some call it luck; anda few call it destiny. But as the country’svice-president since June 30, 2016 –just a little over five months in office –many people now believe that Leni isdestined to assume what the countryneeds: a servant-leader whosecompassion for the poor transcends

policy.Before entering public life four yearsago, Leni led a simple and down-to-earth lifestyle. She graduated from theUniversity of the Philippines with adegree in Economics in 1986. That wasthe year the People Power Revolutionerupted. Inspired by the revolution, Lenideferred her law studies and went towork as a researcher for the Bicol RiverBasin Development Program, agovernment agency that wasresponsible for planning thedevelopment in the three provinces ofthe Bicol region. It was here where shemet her future husband, JesseRobredo, who was then the agency’sProgram Director. They got married thefollowing year.

A few years later, Leni obtained herMaster’s Degree in BusinessAdministration at San Beda College.After getting her MBA, she went to lawschool at the University of NuevaCaceres where she earned her lawdegree in 1992. She passed the barexam in 1996 and went to work in thePublic Attorney’s Office, where shetook up the defense for cases pursuedby her husband, who was then theMayor of Naga City.

Fate and destiny

With 26 years of experience in servingthe people – mostly poor – in the Bicolregion, Leni sharply honed her “peopleskill,” which prepared her for a life ofpublic service. However, she didn’trealize that fate – and destiny – wouldcatapult her in a trajectory that wouldlead her to the vice presidencyZ aheartbeat away from the presidency.

With the untimely and sudden death ofher husband Jesse from a plane crashin 2012, who was then the Secretary ofthe Department of the Interior andLocal Government (DILG) under theadministration of then PresidentBenigno Aquino III, Leni wasencouraged by Liberal Party stalwarts

including President Aquino to run for acongressional seat to representCamarines Sur’s third district.

Her first foray into politics was one ofthe most – if not the most – watchedcontests during the 2013 mid-termelections. Pitted against Nelly Favis-Villafuerte, a member of the powerfulVillafuerte dynasty, conventionalwisdom dictated that Leni didn’t stand achance of beating Favis-Villafuerte.The odds were just too great. But shewon! She occupied her district’scongressional seat in Metro Manila andcommuted by bus to and from NagaCity once a week. She could haveavailed of a government-paidchauffeur-driven sedan but she didn’t.

Underdog wins

In 2015, Aquino prodded her to run forvice-president when the LP couldn’tfind a strong candidate to field against

several seasoned and nationallyrecognized senators. With no trackrecord of winning in nationwideelections, Leni didn’t stand a chance ofbeating them.

When Leni began her vice-presidentialelection campaign, she was theunderdog with only 1% approval ratingin the surveys versus the 44% of ChizEscudero, who wan then the front-runner. By April 2016, just two weeksbefore the elections, Leni climbed tothe top of the leader board at 26% andtied statistically with Bongbong Marcos’25%. Leni won the vice-presidency by arazor-thin margin over Bongbong,which led Bongbong to file for recount.

But Bongbong wants the recount theprecincts in which he got zero votes.However, he doesn’t want the recountof Leni’s zero-vote precincts, which sheclaims was four to five times as manyas his.

Marcos burial

Newly elected President RodrigoDuterte who won in a landslide duemainly to his populist appeal to thecommon people and a promise to endillegal drugs, criminality, and corruptionin three to six months, appointed Lenias Chairperson of the Housing andUrban Development CoordinatingCouncil (HUDCC). However, theappointment did not dwell too well withBongbong whom Duterte is openlysupporting in his electoral protestagainst Leni. The case is now pendingbefore the Presidential ElectoralTribunal (PET), which consists ofmembers of the Supreme Court.Interestingly, the Supreme Court, by a9-4 vote, recently ruled to allow theburial of Bongbong’s father andnamesake, the late dictator Ferdinand

E. Marcos to be buried in the LibinganNg Mga Bayani (Heroes’ Cemetery).Does their vote indicate that PETwould likely declare Bongbong thewinner of the vice-presidentialelection; thus, replacing Leni as VicePresident?

Déjà vu

With the political currents shiftingerratically, speculation is rife that thereis an insidious plot for Bongbong toreplace Leni. The obvious one is forBongbong to win the recount, whichmany believe would be done by hookor by crook. As to how they’d do ithookedly or crookedly, depends onmany factors, including an attempt ofDuterte to amend the Constitution toconvert the government system to afederal system. Or, perhaps, into aparliamentary system where Dutertewould remain President as the head ofstate and Bongbong who would be

Prime Minister as head ofgovernment?

Future?This reminds me when the elderMarcos changed the Constitution to aparliamentary system with him asPresident and Cesar Virata as PrimeMinister. With a large majority ofcongressmen – many of them were LPturncoats – serving as rubber stampfor a Duterte-Marcos alliance, therewouldn’t be a need for Bongbong to

run for President in a national ticket. AllDuterte has to do is to convince theturncoats to make Bongbong thePrime Minister. And with the LPreduced to about 30 congressmen anda handful of senators, they couldhardly function as an opposition party.There won’t be any opposition party!Does that remind you of the dark era ofthe Marcos dictatorship? Yes, it’s déjàvu all over again.

The battle begins

Leni Robredo VS. Duterte-Marcosresigned from the Duterte Cabinetafter she received a text message fromCabinet Secretary Jun Evasco to“desist” from attending Cabinetmeetings. In her letter, Leni said: “I hadbeen warned of a plot to steal the VicePresidency. I have chosen to ignorethis and focus on the job at hand. Butthe events of recent days indicate thatthis plot is now being set into motion.

“From the very beginning, thePresident and I had major differencesin principles and values. Since Iassumed office, I have beenconsistent in my opposition to issuessuch as the burial of former PresidentFerdinand Marcos in the Libingan ngmga Bayani, extra-judicial killings,reinstating death penalty, lowering theage of criminal liability, and sexualattacks against women.”

In a press conference following herresignation, Leni declared herreadiness to lead the politicalopposition to a Duterte-Marcosconspiracy to steal the vice-presidency. “This is not a time for fear.This is a time for conviction andcourage.” She concluded, saying: “Wehave fought this battle before and won.We will never let anyone revise ourhistory and twist it to turn evil intogood. What is at stake here is ourcollective future.”

And now, the battle begins. Quo vadis,Leni?([email protected])

QUO VADIS, LENI?

Leni and Jess Robrego

Leni and Bongbong

Past: Prime Minister Cesar Virataand President Ferdinand E.Marcos

Duterte and Bongbong

“A moment of anger candestroy a lifetime of work,whereas a moment of lovecan break barriers that tooka lifetime to build.”

― Leon Brown

December 2016 19The North American Filipino StarThe North American Filipino Star


Marché Duc Thanh6430 Victoria Ave. Montreal, QC Tel. 514-733-7816

Mang Tomas All PurposeSauce - $1.79 ea.

Marca Pina Soya Sauce$1.49 ea.

DDiiwwaa SShhrreeddddeedd YYoouunnggCCooccoonnuutt -- $$11..9999 eeaa..

Small Tilapia $9.00/case 7 lbs

Marinated Milk Fish$5.49 pack

Chicken leg 99¢ lb/ $35.00/case18 kg

Chicken Drumstick99¢ lb

Pork Spare Rib$1.99 lb

Beef Point Sirloin (whole, no cut) $3.29 lb

Dunn's Coconut Milk$1.00 ea.

Buenas Coconut Strings$2.49 ea.

Shrimp 31-40 $13.99/bag 2 lbs

Sale Prices fromDec. 21, 2016 - Jan. 1,2017

Diwa coconut &pineapple gel - $1.69 ea.

TYJ Spring Roll (M)$1.39 ea.

Datu Puti Vinegar$1.00 ea.

Super Q Bihon & Palabok$$1.00 ea.

Bulacan Pancit Canton454 g - $2.49 ea.

UFC Banana Sauce$1.29 ea.

WK Spaghetti Sauce1 kg$3.49 ea.

Dole Pineapple Juice$1.99 ea.

Grace Condensed Milk$1.00 ea.

Aroy-D Coconut Milk$1.49 ea.

Diwa Bihon 454 g$2.49 ea.

Oasis Juice4/$5.00

Quality Longanisa2/$4.00 $2.99 ea.

Long Bean$1.99 lb

Shanghai Bok Choy49¢

Sky Flakes 850 g $5.49 ea

Banana29¢ lb

Pork Ham(whole - no cut)99¢ lb

Wishing all our customersHappy Holidays

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year


“Educaton raises the bar but lowersthe barriers to a rewarding career.”

Call 514-485-7861or 514-506-8753 to register.Days, Evenings or Weekends

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7159, ch. de la Côte des NeigesMontréal, QC H3R 2M2Tel.: 514-485-7861 Fax: 514-485-3076

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Merry ChristmasMaligayang

PaskoJoyeux Noel

Happy and thankful that 27 years have gone by since Ifounded Gilmore College and I’m still actively serving thecommunity. I would like to invite you to continue youreducation and achieve your personal and professionalgoals at Gilmore. Start this Winter session, Jan. 9, 2017.

Batch 11 PAB students at Chateau Westmount CHSLD on practicumwith their teachers - Amy Manon-og, Terry White and Sophie Toledo.

filipino star - december 2016 edition

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