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pcinews_X NOVEMBER 3, 2023 www.canadianinquirer.net VOL. 8 NO. 564

EARLY VISIT

A man visits the grave of his departed loved one while a worker uses a ladder to clean the tombs at Capilpil Cemetery in San Mateo, Rizal on Tuesday (Oct. 31, 2023). Filipinos observe "Undas"
or All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day every Nov. 1 and 2.
JOEY O. RAZON / PNA

Bulacan voters 13

reject conversion
of SJDM into highly In the Israel-Hamas war,
children are the ultimate
pawns – and ultimate victims

urbanized city
BY FERDINAND PATINIO
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The City of San Jose del
Monte (SJDM) will not be converted
into a highly urbanized city (HUC) af-
27
ter more than 800,000 voters in the
province of Bulacan turned down the `
The enduring appeal of Friends, and
measure, the Commission on Elections
why so many of us feel we’ve lost a
(Comelec) reported on Wednesday.
Based on the certificate of canvass of personal friend in Matthew Perry
How to redesign social
❱❱ PAGE 7 Bulacan voters reject media algorithms to
PAGE 18 bridge divides

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2 NOVEMBER 3, 2023 FRIDAY

www.canadianinquirer.net
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2023
Filipinos who Climate proofing merged
returned, stayed in new building code bill
in Gaza City ‘necessary’
‘safe’: DFA
BY JOYCE ANN L.
ROCAMORA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The six Filipinos
who decided to return to Gaza
City and the three others who
earlier had opted to stay there
are safe amid the continuous
exchange of fires between Isra-
el and Hamas as the conflict in-
tensifies in its third week.
In a Bagong Pilipinas Ngay-
on interview on Wednesday,
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary
Eduardo Jose De Vega said the
six were already near the Rafah
crossing but decided to return
to their homes in the north
from the long wait.
“Masikip ‘yong lugar nila
doon kaya bumalik sila sa kanil-
ang tirahan sa Gaza City (The
place they were previously
staying in was small, that’s why
they went back to their homes
in Gaza City),” he said.
“Ang mabuting balita, silang
anim at ‘yong tatlo pa na nanati-
Senators prefer 'West Philippine Sea'
in environmental case vs. China
BY WILNARD BACELONIA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – Several senators
expressed their reluctance on
changing the name of "West
Philippine Sea" to "Sea of Asia"
considering the clarity in terri-
torial rights.
Senator Alan Peter Cayeta-
no noted in a press statement
Tuesday that when it comes
to standing the Philippines'
ground on the dispute, sticking
to “West Philippine Sea” is the
way to go especially since the
2016 Arbitral Ruling has de-
li doon kasama ‘yong madre ay
safe naman, uninjured sila (The
good news is these six Filipinos
and the three others with a Fil-
ipino nun are safe. They are un-
injured),” he added.
While no casualties have been
reported, De Vega said the Phil-
ippine Embassy in Jordan con-
tinues to monitor them as Is-
rael steps up its offense against
Hamas targets in the area.
“We hope they will be okay.
Itong anim kusang loob silang
nagdesisyon na bumalik (These
six, they voluntarily decided to
return),” he added.
Meanwhile, a family of 10 Fil-
ipinos is still out of reach in the
besieged strip, possibly due to
the power interruptions.
De Vega said the Embassy
believes they are safe as most of
the 136 are already in the south-
ern portion of Gaza.
“Sa palagay ng Embassy ay
hindi sila kasama sa mga nam-
amatay ngayon dahil ‘yong
❱❱ PAGE 10 Filipinos who returned
clared the Philippines’ right on
the territory.
Cayetano recalled that he
consistently used the term
“West Philippine Sea” when
talking to world leaders and
opinion-makers during his
stint as Foreign Affairs Secre-
tary in 2017-2018.
“In fact, one of the former
American Secretary of States,
sabi niya (he said), ‘Oh, that
[West Philippine Sea] is inter-
esting. Yes, we should start us-
ing that,” he said.
The lawmaker, however, ac-
knowledged that Justice Secre-
tary Jesus Crispin Remulla’s idea
BY FILANE MIKEE
CERVANTES
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – A lawmaker
on Tuesday said an environ-
ment-friendly measure that seeks
to replace the 46-year-old Build-
ing Code will make the
country's structures more
resilient against natural
calamities and disasters.
Camarines Sur Rep.
Luis Raymund Villa-
fuerte Jr. said the cli-
mate-proofing plan
under House Bill 8500
or the proposed New
Philippine Building Act
would still preserve the power of
local government units to issue
statutes or regulations relating
to buildings in their respective
localities as long as these are
consistent with the proposed
new building law.
“Climate change and the in-
creasing frequency and inten-
sity of natural disasters that hit
the country make it necessary
for us lawmakers to update our
building and construction laws.
of naming the disputed territory
as “Sea of Asia” has some merit.
“Maganda po y’ung idea ni
Secretary Boying (Secretary
Boying's idea is good) if just to
emphasize that 71 percent of the
world is water, and that napa-
ka-importante na ‘wag tayong
mag-away-away diyan kundi
magtulungan (it is very import-
ant that we should instead help
each other there than engage in
conflict),” Cayetano said.
For Senator Jinggoy Estrada,
the term “West Philippine Sea”
should be constantly emphasized
as a geopolitical designation of
the Philippine government, and
www.canadianinquirer.net
Philippine News
Improvements in building reg-
ulations and standards are nec-
essary to help us respond to our
vulnerabilities to such disas-
ters as earthquakes, typhoons
and volcanic eruptions, given
that the Philippines is situated
along the Pacific 'Ring of Fire',”
Villafuerte said.
The bill aims to create
the Office of the National
Building Officer (NBO)...
The bill aims to create the
Office of the National Building
Officer (NBO), which is tasked
to ensure that the buildings or
structures are stronger or more
tenacious in the face of earth-
quakes, storms, floods, fires,
landslides and other natural
hazards of increasing frequen-
cy and intensity.
He said one requirement of the
proposed new building code un-
der HB 8500 is for all buildings
an alternative name to the parts
of the South China Sea that are
within the Philippines’ Exclusive
Economic Zone (EEZ).
"Ang katagang ito ay suma-
salamin sa legal na pag-angkin
natin sa teritoryong ito (This
term reflects the legal basis of
our claim in this territory). The
Hague-based UN-backed Per-
manent Court of Arbitration
ruled overwhelmingly in our
favor in determining China’s
claims as unlawful," Estrada
said in an earlier statement.
In another statement, Senator
Grace Poe said she would rely on
the experts to address the pro-
3
and structures to be designed to
“minimize their negative envi-
ronmental impact throughout
their life cycle, through efficient
energy, water and waste manage-
ment methods, use of sustainable
materials and landscaping that
considers a site’s biodiversity and
existing natural features, and
climate change mitigat-
ing features, among other
measures."
Another requirement,
he said, is the strict use
of building materials and
components that are safe
for the health of occupants.
He said the building
materials must not cause
any substantive negative
impact on the environment in-
cluding air, water and soil, and
follow “a set of criteria, includ-
ing strength, fire resistivity,
moisture resistance, durability,
and sustainability".
The bill shall authorize the
NBO to recommend funding
support for LGUs and communi-
ties that have endorsed disaster
risk reduction and management
❱❱ PAGE 10 Climate proofing merged
posal, as long as it does not weak-
en the country’s position.
"Any initiative must not di-
minish our territorial claims in
the disputed sea. We must pre-
serve our rights to the Philip-
pines' EEZ," Poe said.
In planning to pursue an "en-
vironmental case" against China
for reportedly destroying ma-
rine resources in the West Phil-
ippine Sea, Remulla is planning
to use the term “Sea of Asia”
instead, as “a strategy aimed at
making the case relevant to the
international community.” ■
 4 Philippine News
Centenarian OCD to beef up interaction
recipients of P100K with private sector for
from DSWD now disaster response
over 12K
BY ZALDY DE LAYOLAM
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – A total of 12,186 cente-
narians have received PHP100,000
incentives from the Department of
Social Welfare and Development
(DSWD) from 2017 up to September
this year, Assistant Secretary Romel
Lopez said on Tuesday.
“This achievement serves as
a testament to the nation’s un-
wavering commitment to hon-
oring its elderly citizens,” Lo-
pez, also DSWD spokesperson,
said in a news release.
Under Republic Act No. 10868
or the Centenarians Act of 2016,
all Filipinos at the age of 100 years
old, whether residing in the Philip-
pines or abroad, shall be honored
with a letter of felicitation signed
by the President of the Philippines
congratulating the celebrant for
his or her longevity, and a “cente-
narian gift” worth PHP100,000.
Aside from the cash gift, the
DSWD provides a posthumous
plaque of recognition for a de-
ceased centenarian, which may
be received by her or his nearest
surviving relative.
“The Centenarian Program
represents our respect for our
elderly and acknowledges the
invaluable contributions they
have made to society over the
LONG LIFE. Centenarian Maura Agripa shows the PHP100,000 check she receives
from the Taguig City government on her 100th birthday on Sept. 26, 2023. The De-
partment of Social Welfare and Development on Tuesday (Oct. 31, 2023) announced
that a total of 12,186 centenarians have received PHP100,000 incentives from the na-
tional government through DSWD from 2017 up to September this year. (TAGUIG PIO)
decades,” Lopez said.
Lopez reiterated that to avail
of the benefits under the law,
relatives of the centenarians
must submit primary docu-
ments such as the birth certif-
icate and Philippine passport
to the City or Municipal Social
Welfare Office and/or to the Of-
fice for Senior Citizens Affairs
(OSCA) in their localities.
If the two documents are not
available, any one of the prima-
ry Identification Cards issued
by OSCA, the Government Ser-
vice Insurance System (GSIS),
and Social Security System
(SSS); driver’s license; Profes-
sional Regulations Commission
(PRC) license; and Commission
on Elections (COMELEC) Vot-
er’s ID, is also accepted.
“In cases that the said identifica-
tion documents are not available,
the centenarian or their family
members can submit any second-
ary documents such as marriage
certificate, birth certificate of a
child borne by the centenarian,
among others,” Lopez said.
The DSWD vowed to closely
coordinate with the local gov-
ernment units and the National
Commission on Senior Citizens
to improve the planning and
budgeting for more effective
❱❱ PAGE 17 Centenarian recipients of
BY PRIAM NEPOMUCENO
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The Office of Civ-
il Defense (OCD) said Tuesday
it would continue partnering
with the private sector to en-
hance the country's disaster re-
sponse capabilities.
OCD administrator, Under-
secretary Ariel Nepomuceno,
said his recent meeting with the
board members of the Philip-
pine Disaster Resilience Foun-
dation (PDRF) in Pasig City
was meant to strengthen their
partnership with the private
sector as "part of the whole-of-
nation approach in disaster risk
reduction and management
Pinay who gave up sav-
ings to save elderly ward
vs. Hamas flying home
BY JOYCE ANN L.
ROCAMORA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The Filipino care-
giver who willingly gave her
savings to convince a Hamas
terrorist to spare her and her el-
derly ward is finally flying home
to the Philippines soon.
In a virtual interview with re-
porters on Tuesday, 31-year-old
Camille Jesalva said the Phil-
ippine Embassy in Israel has
offered her a seat in the govern-
ment’s next repatriation flight.
Jesalva was alone with her
95-year-old ward Nitza Hefetz
at their residence in a kibbutz
in Nirim when the Hamas ter-
rorist group mounted a deadly
cross-border attack against Is-
rael on Oct. 7.
From the morning of Oct. 7
until they were rescued by the
www.canadianinquirer.net
(DRRM)."
“In our recent meeting with
the PDRF board, we affirmed
OCD’s commitment to continu-
ously strive towards the better-
ment of our country’s DRRM
with the help of the private
sector,” he said in a statement.
“PDRF is one of the staunch
partners of the government in
capacity-building activities, hu-
manitarian response, and other
DRRM aspects and efforts. And
for that, we are grateful. We will
fortify more collaborations.”
The OCD and PDRF had part-
nerships in the development
and launch of the Public Service
Continuity Guidebooks, as well
as in the provision of technical
assistance for training activi-
Israeli Defense Forces in the
afternoon, different Hamas
members entered their home at
least four times.
Jesalva, who was hiding in a
safe room with Nitza, said the
terrorists missed them the first
three instances.
“Before 12, the fourth one
entered. ‘I’m dead’ I’m already
thinking like that and then Nit-
za heard the commotion and
shouted to close the door,” she
narrated.
Attempting not to upset their
trespasser, Jesalva pleaded for
understanding that Nitza was
old and that “she don’t know
anything”.
Without hesitation, she emp-
tied out her wallet and gave
the money to the armed man
--money that she was supposed
to give to her family when she
returns to the Philippines.
“He asked if there was more
NOVEMBER 3, 2023 FRIDAY
ties, and support for disaster
response operations.
They are part of the Philippine
Preparedness Partnership, or
PhilPrep, a multi-sectoral plat-
form for disaster preparedness.
In this partnership, the OCD,
the PDRF, the Center for Di-
saster Preparedness, and the
University of the Philippines
Resilience Institute represent
the government, private sector,
civil society organizations, and
the academe, respectively.
The PDRF is the country’s
major private sector coordina-
tor for DRRM, enabling links to
government agencies, humani-
tarian institutions, and civil so-
ciety groups. ■
money and I said no more and
then after that, he got out the
room,” she recalled.
Throughout that nerve-rack-
ing experience, Jesalva said she
was thinking about her only
child in the Philippines.
“Hiningi ko po ‘yong picture
ng anak ko kasi alam ko na hin-
di na ako mabubuhay, gusto ko
‘yong last na image na makiki-
ta ko ‘yong anak ko (I already
asked the picture of my child
thinking that would be my fi-
nal moment, I wanted that the
last image that I will see is my
child),” she said.
“Ayoko pa pong mamatay,
kawawa ‘yong anak ko (I don’t
want to die because what will
happen to my kid),” she added.
Jesalva said she will go on a
vacation to the Philippines and
spend the holidays with her kid
but promised to still return to
Israel to take care of Nitza. ■
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2023 5

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6 Philippine News NOVEMBER 3, 2023 FRIDAY

PH has right to patrol WPS - NSA

BY PRIAM NEPOMUCENO,
RAYMOND CARL DELA
CRUZ
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The country has
the right to patrol all parts of
the West Philippine Sea (WPS),
including Bajo De Masinloc
(also known as Scarborough
Shoal), as this area is well with-
in the nation's exclusive eco-
nomic zone (EEZ), National Se-
curity Adviser (NSA) Eduardo
Año said on Tuesday.
This was in reaction to Chi-
na's claims that it had blocked
and prevented a Filipino war-
ship, the BRP Conrado Yap (PS-
39), from trespassing into the
waters of Huangyan Island (the
Chinese name for Scarborough
Shoal) on Oct. 30.
"Under international law, the
Philippines has every right to
patrol the length and breadth of
the WPS which necessarily in-
cludes Bajo De Masinloc which
is well within the country’s
EEZ," Año said in a statement.
He added that the BRP Con-
rado Yap conducted routine
patrol operations in the gener-
al vicinity of Bajo De Masinloc
without any untoward incident.
"It did not illegally enter any
space under Chinese sovereignty
because Bajo De Masinloc is part
of the Philippine archipelago and
EEZ. Chinese vessels, as usual,
conducted shadowing on the
movement of PS-39," he added.
Año emphasized that China was
again overhyping this incident and
creating unnecessary tensions be-
tween the two countries.
"Nonetheless, the AFP
(Armed Forces of the Philip-
pines) and PCG (Philippine
Coast Guard) will not be de-
terred by the aggressive and il-
legal activities of PLA (People's
Liberation Army) Navy/Chi-
na Coast Guard/Militia in the
WPS," he noted.
Año urged China to act re-
sponsibly, respect the United
Nations Convention on the Law
of the Sea, adhere to the 2016 Ar-
bitral Ruling, promote the rules-
based international order, and
stop its aggressive and illegal ac-
tions in Philippine waters.
"Following the strong guid-
ance of President Ferdinand
Marcos Jr., we will protect our
territory and sovereign rights
at all cost," he added.
Echoing Año's statement
that China is creating unneces-
sary tensions, PCG Spokesper-
son for the WPS, Commodore
Jay Tarriela on Tuesday clar-
ified that speaking up against
China’s aggression is not in-
citing war following ramming
incidents by Chinese vessels in
October.
Tarriela said calling out Chi-
na’s “bad behavior at sea” high-
lights the party responsible for
raising tensions.
“By keeping our political
leaders and countrymen aware
of China’s violations of inter-
national law, we are safeguard-
National Security Adviser Eduardo Año (PCOO)
ing our country from political
manipulation and disinforma-
tion,” Tarriela said.
On Oct. 22, while conducting
a legitimate rotation and re-
supply (RORE) mission within
the exclusive economic zone of
the Philippines, Chinese Coast
Guard (CCG) and maritime mi-
litia vessels harassed and col-
lided with Unaiza May 2 and
PCG vessel BRP Cabra.
In August, during the AFP's
rotation and reprovision mission
to the BRP Sierra Madre at the
Ayungin Shoal, the CCG, Peo-
ple’s Liberation Army Navy and
Chinese maritime militia vessels
used aggressive maneuvers, in-
cluding the use of a water cannon
against Philippine supply boats
and coast guard vessels.
In response to claims that
PCG’s transparency efforts are
solely influenced by the United
States, Tarriela said these efforts
are instead driven by the need
to protect the Philippines’ mari-
time rights and national interest.
“Our dedication to trans-
parency is independent of any
external influence, and we pri-
oritize the dissemination of fac-
tual information to the public,”
he said.
The PCG and other govern-
ment agencies, he said, are
using their own resources to
document and monitor China’s
actions in the WPS.
Tarriela rebuked accusations
that criticizing China’s actions
are anti-Filipino and pro-US.
“Experts and government of-
ficials who are critical of China's
actions in the WPS are driven
by their dedication to the Phil-
ippines. Their arguments are
rooted in international law,
such as the UN Convention on
the Law of the Sea, and the Phil-
ippine Constitution,” he said. ■

PBBM to BSKE winners:

Be honest, serve people well
BY RUTH ABBEY GITA-
CARLOS
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – President Ferdi-
nand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday
urged the proclaimed winners
of the 2023 Barangay and Sang-
guniang Kabataan (BSKE) elec-
tions to be honest at all times and
to serve their constituents well.
Marcos made the call as he
congratulated the newly elect-
ed and re-elected BSK officials.
In a video message uploaded
on his official Facebook page,
Marcos acknowledged the BSK
officials’ vital role in improving
the lives of their constituents.
“Isang panibagong pagkaka-
kataon na naman po ito upang
makapag-serbisyo sa mga Pili-
pino at sa ating bayan ng buong
puso, at higit pa sa abot ng ating
kakayahan. Maging tapat po tayo
sa lahat ng oras. Lagi po nating
unahin ang kapakanan ng sam-
bayanan sapagkat sila po ang
dahilan kung bakit nais nating
magsilbi sa bayan (This is a new
opportunity to serve the Filipi-
nos and our country with all our
heart, and more than our abili-
ties. Let's be honest at all times.
Let's always put the welfare of
the people first because they are
the reason why we want to serve
the country),” Marcos said.
“Sa ating pagkakaisa at kolek-
tibong pagsisikap, tiyak na mai-
susulong natin ang ‘Bagong
Pilipinas’ kung saan ang bawat
barangay ay mapayapa, masaya,
at maunlad; kung saan nanan-
aig ang pagkakaisa, pagkakaun-
awaan, at kasaganaan; at kung council members and youth Erwin Garcia said the BSKE
saan ang bawat mamamayan council members. went smoothly and was gener-
ay taas-noo bilang mga Pilipino The same data showed there ally peaceful.
(With our unity and collective were 67.8 million registered vot- The commission has yet to
efforts, we will definitely be able ers for the village polls and 23.2 determine the voter turnout
to promote the 'New Philippines' million registered youth voters. but expects it to be 70 percent
where every barangay is peaceful, Comelec chairperson George to 75 percent. ■
happy, and prosperous; where
unity, understanding, and pros-
perity prevail; and where every
citizen stands tall as Filipinos).”
The President expressed
elation over the successful and
peaceful conduct of the BSKE,
thanking the registered Filipi-
no voters who participated in
the polls.
Based on Commission on
Elections (Comelec) data, up
for grabs in Monday's polls
were 42,007 positions each for
village chair and youth chair
and 294,007 each for village Pres. Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (PCO)

www.canadianinquirer.net
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2023
Onion, garlic Kishida’s visit to open
prices stable; doors for mutually beneficial
potato supply, gains: Romualdez
prices to stabilize
by Q4
BY RUTH ABBEY GITA-
CARLOS
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The Department
of Agriculture (DA) has mon-
itored the stable prices of on-
ion and garlic in local markets,
Malacañang said on Monday.
Citing the data from the DA,
Communications Secretary
Cheloy Garafil said the average
prices of local onion in September
and October this year range from
PHP140 to PHP142; PHP125 to
PHP130 for local white onion; and
PHP120 to PHP125 for imported
white onion.
Garafil said imported gar-
lic is being sold for PHP125 to
PHP140, while the price of local
garlic is at PHP500.
Based on the daily monitor-
ing of prices by DA’s Agribusi-
ness and Marketing Assistance
Bulacan voters reject..
❰❰ 1 votes released by the
poll body, a total of
820,385 voted “No” to
the conversion, outnumbering
the 620,707 voters who said
"Yes" to the measure.
A total of 1,608,004 out of
2,092,248 voters in the prov-
ince joined Monday's plebi-
scite, which coincided with the
Service, the prices of onion and
garlic remain stable in Com-
monwealth, Guadalupe, Las
Piñas, Marikina, Mega Q-mart,
Muñoz, Pasay, Pasig, Quinta,
San Andres, Muntinlupa and
Pritil markets.
President Ferdinand R. Mar-
cos Jr., who concurrently leads
the DA, has vowed to intensify
the government’s fight against
hoarding and smuggling of ag-
ricultural commodities, includ-
ing onions.
DA Assistant Secretary Ar-
nel de Mesa said the agency is
regularly monitoring the prices
of basic commodities and com-
mitted to providing immediate
solutions to the movement in
the market value chain.
This, as De Mesa noted an
increase in the prices of other
crops, particularly potatoes.
❱❱ PAGE 17 Onion, garlic prices
Barangay and Sangguniang Ka-
bataan Elections.
Proclamation 1057 issued
by former president Rodrigo
Duterte on Dec. 4, 2020, con-
verts San Jose del Monte City
into an HUC and paved the way
for the holding of the plebiscite.
The proclamation was issued
after the Sangguniang Panlung-
BY JOSE CIELITO
REGANIT
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – House of Rep-
resentatives Speaker Ferdi-
nand Martin G. Romualdez said
Wednesday the two-day official
visit of Japanese Prime Minister
Fumio Kishida to the Philippines
is expected to open new doors of
collaboration that are mutually
beneficial for the two countries.
In a statement, Romualdez
said the visit of Kishida and his
wife Yuko to meet with President
Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Nov.
3, and his visit to the House of
Representatives to address the
Special Joint Session of Congress
on Nov. 4, will mark another sig-
nificant milestone in the strong
diplomatic alliance between the
Philippines and Japan.
“We are optimistic that
through our discussions, new
pathways for collaboration
and development will emerge,
promising enhanced opportu-
nities and a brighter future for
all Filipinos, here and in Ja-
pan,” he said.
“It is with great anticipation
that we look forward to his ad-
dress to the Congress of the
Republic of the Philippines.
The House of Representatives,
as the honored venue host of
this significant event in the
Batasang Pambansa Complex,
is committed to exerting all
efforts to ensure that Prime
Minister Kishida's visit is both
fruitful and memorable.”
Romualdez said Kishida’s visit
is expected to cover a wide range
sod (City Council) of San Jose
del Monte, through Resolution
2019-059-09, requested the
chief executive to declare the
city as an HUC.
Under Section 452 of Repub-
lic Act (RA) 7160 or the Local
Government Code of 1991, the
city with a minimum popula-
tion of 200,000 inhabitants
www.canadianinquirer.net
Philippine News
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida
(BONGBONG MARCOS/FACEBOOK)
of very important topics, with
focus on strengthening the excel-
lent relations and exploring op-
portunities for the two countries.
He said the Philippines and
Japan are committed to turning
the two-day visit into concrete
collaborations that would not
only strengthen bilateral re-
lations but also contribute to
global peace and prosperity.
“This visit, symbolizing the
deep and longstanding bond
our nations have forged, built
on mutual respect, shared val-
ues, and a unified vision for
peace, stability, and prosperity
in the Asia-Pacific region, signi-
fies the strength of our bilateral
ties,” Romualdez said.
“On behalf of the Filipino peo-
ple, I extend our heartfelt appre-
ciation to Prime Minister Kishi-
da and wish him a successful and
impactful visit to our shores.”
Earlier, Communication Sec-
retary Cheloy Garafil said Mar-
cos would lead the welcome
rites for Kishida at Malacañan
as certified by the Philippine
Statistics Authority (PSA) and
with the latest annual income
of at least PHP50 million based
on 1991 constant prices, as cer-
tified by the City Treasurer, can
be classified as HUC.
The proclamation earlier
said the city has met the mini-
mum requirements prescribed
7
Palace and discuss with the
Japanese leader the areas of
mutual concern, such as politi-
cal, security, economic, and de-
velopment cooperation, as well
as people-to-people ties.
“The Japanese leader and the
President are also expected to
exchange views on regional and
international issues, and reaffirm
the excellent relations between
the Philippines and Japan, which
was elevated into a Strategic
Partnership in 2011,” Garafil said
in a statement Tuesday.
Marcos and Kishida also met
in Tokyo in February when the
Terms of Reference on Human-
itarian Assistance and Disaster
Relief activities of the Japan
Self-Defense Forces in the Phil-
ippines was signed.
During his official visit to
Tokyo in February, Marcos
also had an audience with Jap-
anese Emperor Naruhito and
Empress Masako and meetings
❱❱ PAGE 10 Kishida’s visit to
under Section 452 of RA 7160
for it to be classified as an HUC.
San Jose del Monte, Bula-
can's then largest town in terms
of land area and population,
was proclaimed as a component
city on Sept. 10, 2000 under Re-
public Act 8797. ■
8 Philippine News
Correspondent/Hosts
Arianne Grace Lacanilao
Matte Laurel
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Babes Newland
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Kristopher Yong
Director/Producer
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Management
Alan Yong
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Member
Active collaboration between
electronics, education sectors urged
BY WILNARD BACELONIA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – Vice President and Edu-
cation Secretary Sara Z. Duterte has ex-
pressed her belief that the growth of the
country’s semiconductor and electronics
industry could be enhanced by an active
collaboration between industry stake-
holders and educational institutions.
In a social media post on Tuesday,
Duterte suggested that educational in-
stitutions could enhance their curric-
ulum by collaborating with industry
experts and stakeholders to ensure that
they are always a step ahead of the evolv-
ing needs of the industry.
"By incorporating emerging technolo-
gies, industry-specific skills, and practi-
cal training opportunities, education can
equip students with the relevant knowl-
edge and skills needed to excel in the field
by the time they graduate," she said.
She emphasized that the collaboration
between the industry and the academia
is essential, and could lead to resource
sharing, joint research projects, intern-
ships, and industry-led workshops.
"These collaborations bridge the gap
between academia and industry, ensur-
ing that education remains industry-rel-
PH ranks 7th in ‘fastest-growing’
global remote work hubs
BY RUTH ABBEY GITA-CARLOS
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The Philippines is the sev-
enth “fastest-growing” remote work hub
in the world, according to work and trav-
el platform Nomad List.
In a statement, Communications
Secretary Cheloy Garafil noted that Ma-
nila has been named by Nomad List as
among the 10 ideal destinations in Asia,
South America and Europe for digital
nomads or remote workers who usually
travel to different locations.
The list of fastest-growing global re-
mote work destinations was posted on
the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) of-
ficial Instagram account.
“In the listing, destinations are ranked
by growth rates of check-ins made in uik
my places by tens of thousands of No-
mad List members using live data ana-
lyzing 299,498 check-ins. The primary
www.canadianinquirer.net
evant and students gain practical expo-
sure and experience," Duterte said.
With the help of education, she said,
entrepreneurship in the industry could
also be promoted by offering courses
and programs that nurture business
skills and encourage innovation.
"Providing mentorship, access to in-
cubators, and networking opportunities
can empower aspiring entrepreneurs to
establish their own ventures, contrib-
uting to the industry's growth," Duterte
said while also emphasizing the impor-
tance of research and development.
(INDAY SARA DUTERTE/FACEBOOK)
rank is the most recent growth in check-
ins,” Garafil said.
“These growth numbers give travelers
and workers an idea of the fastest growing
remote work hubs and also show the cur-
rent rank on Nomad List so they can gauge
the popularity of the place,” she added.
Tokyo, Japan topped the list, followed
by Danang, Vietnam; Seoul, South Ko-
rea; Kuala Lumpur and Penang, both in
Malaysia.
The other places considered as fast-
est-growing remote work destinations in-
clude Montevideo, Uruguay (6th), Hanoi,
Vietnam (8th), Ho Chi Minh City, Viet-
nam (9th), and Ljubljana, Slovenia (10th).
Garafil said Nomad List found them the
“best” places in the world to live, work and
travel as a remote worker, “collecting mil-
lions of data points every second on thou-
sands of cities around the world, from cost
of living, temperature to safety.”
“Tracking the country’s five-year
growth from 2018 to 2022, the Philip-
NOVEMBER 3, 2023 FRIDAY
“By investing in research and devel-
opment and facilitating collaborative
research projects between academia and
industry, educational institutions can
contribute to advancing technology, im-
proving product quality, and developing
new solutions."
Duterte attended on Oct. 25 the Phil-
ippine Semiconductor and Electronics
Convention and Exhibition held at the
World Trade Center in Pasay City.
During the event, she urged industry
❱❱ PAGE 17 Active collaboration between
pines posted +78-percent growth. For
2023, it recorded +60-percent growth
based on 10 months of data. Last year, it
posted +1,183-percent growth,” she said.
Garafil affirmed the Philippines’ inclu-
sion as one of the top remote work hubs
worldwide, saying the country is also ide-
al for business because of its “sustained
economic growth rate, current bureau-
cratic reforms, and the administration’s
ongoing thrust for infrastructure devel-
opment and digitalization.”
“The Marcos government has been en-
ticing businesses to come to the Philip-
pines, considering the country’s young,
highly skilled, and English-speaking
workforce,” she said.
Nomad list is a platform with over
10,000 members who log the places
where they are working.
Based on its official website, more
than 4 million people have used Nomad
List in the past year to find 1,368 cities in
over 190 countries to live and work. ■
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2023
B.C. ban on public consumption of some
drugs would harm the vulnerable
BY MATHEW FLEURY,
ERICA MCADAM, TYSON
SINGH KELSALL
Policy Options
The province’s pilot decrim-
inalization project is unfolding
as predicted, but the premier’s
latest proposal would only
make the crisis worse.
In early October, B.C. NDP
Premier David Eby and Pub-
lic Safety Minister Mike Farn-
worth announced they intend
to introduce legislation that will
further criminalize people who
use drugs, a move that will hit
hardest at those who live on the
streets and have no access to su-
pervised consumption spaces.
Bill 34 proposes to make
public consumption of opioids,
cocaine, methamphetamine
and MDMA illegal. That poli-
cy is wrong on its own, but it is
also likely to reverse any bene-
fits that the NDP government’s
limited decriminalization pilot
project, which began in Janu-
ary, can offer.
Why decriminalize drug pos-
session in the first place – es-
pecially at the extremely low
amount that now exists – only
to make the consumption of
those same substances illegal in
most places across B.C.?
Eby and Farnworth also failed
to announce any reforms aimed
at dealing with the province’s
drug toxicity public-health
emergency, such as new ini-
tiatives for overdose response
by opening more supervised
spaces for drug consumption.
Nor was there any mention of
addressing the unpredictability
and toxicity of the drug supply.
There was also no funding or
support for the people who use
drugs or the community mem-
bers who support them, struggle
for minimal funding and infra-
structure to keep informal super-
vised consumption spaces alive.
Rather than further crimi-
nalizing people who use drugs
Canada News
outdoors, the province should
push Health Canada to increase
the possession threshold in
B.C. to an appropriate level that
removes police and targeted
criminalization from the lives
of drug users.
While this would not impact
the toxic and unpredictable
drug supply – the root cause of
the ongoing crisis in B.C. – fu-
ture decriminalization policy
should include creating provi-
sions for community-led ini-
tiatives to distribute a regular
supply, like compassion clubs
and other non-medical models.
Carceral decriminaliza-
tion: a contradiction
Most people with expertise –
whether through lived experience
and/or informed analysis – have
expressed the view that B.C.’s de-
criminalization framework is not
decriminalization at all.
It is littered with exceptions,
including an arbitrarily low
possession quantity for the user
to be exempt from criminal
charges. This threshold amount
does not reflect communi-
ty-based consultation or the
available scientific evidence.
B.C.’s model also allows
greater police intervention in
the lives of people who use sub-
stances, including through the
distribution of health and social
resource cards by police to peo-
ple found carrying drugs under
the legal limit.
Research has shown that po-
lice interactions are associated
with poor treatment outcomes
for certain populations, includ-
ing Indigenous sex workers in
Vancouver. History also shows
that the Vancouver Police De-
partment does not generally
utilize its discretion to reduce
its harassment or violent treat-
ment of people living outside
and/or people who use drugs.
That’s not a new phenomenon.
A long history of prohibition
The first prohibitionist poli-
cies were enacted prior to Con-
federation. These were partly
implemented as settler-colonial
forms of control over Indigenous
Peoples by first linking sobriety
to citizenship (granted through
enfranchisement), followed by
broad integration in the Indian
Act until these provisions were
amended away over time.
www.canadianinquirer.net
Prohibition would later be
expanded, targeting other peo-
ple and other substances. This
punitive-based policy growth
was driven in part by anti-Chi-
nese sentiment and anti-Asian
racism (see photo below). As an
international colonial power,
Britain imposed similar prohibi-
tions in other parts of the world.
Like these original prohibi-
tion laws, the NDP’s proposed
public consumption legisla-
tion is likely to be weaponized
against Indigenous Peoples and
racialized people more often
and more acutely.
A 2020 review of Vancouver
Police street checks found that
Indigenous Peoples and Black
people were significantly over-
represented in interactions with
police, while incarceration rates
for Indigenous Peoples continue
to be higher than other groups
by most metrics imaginable.
First Nations people in B.C.
continue to be killed by the illicit
drug supply at six times the rate
of the overall population. In the
Fraser Health region, there was
a 255-per-cent increase in South
Asian people being killed by drug
toxicity from 2015-18 compared
with a 138-per-cent increase for
the overall population. The im-
pact of prohibitionist policies
continues to be settler-colonial
and racist in nature.
The 2023 Greater Vancou-
ver point-in-time homeless
count estimates 5,000 people
are experiencing homeless-
ness. Thirty-three per cent of
respondents were identified as
Indigenous Peoples by study
volunteers despite the fact that
Indigenous Peoples make up
only 2.2 per cent of the total
population in Vancouver. In ad-
dition, point-in-time homeless
counts are almost certainly an
undercount.
Those who do find a route out
of homelessness largely end up
in carceral, precarious, unsafe
or undignified shelter arrange-
ments that have been charac-
9
terized as worse than living
outside in some cases.
Research in Vancouver has
shown that public drug con-
sumption often results from a
lack of access to adequate hous-
ing and harm-reduction services.
Drug users and people liv-
ing in poverty are scapegoats
Approximately 80 per cent
of drug toxicity deaths occur
indoors. Yet, there is still no
widespread access to super-
vised consumption sites. Most
of these are concentrated in ur-
ban areas and less than half of
them offer safe inhalation spac-
es, even though two-thirds of
drug poisoning deaths are from
inhalation of substances.
With limited accessible super-
vised-use sites, using in public
can reduce the risk of dying alone
in a private residence – where ap-
proximately 80 per cent of over-
dose deaths occur in B.C.
However, several media
sources, social media propa-
gandists and politicians alike
have moved recently to demon-
ize people using substances and
living outside, accusing them of
being responsible for all aspects
of social disorder.
Across B.C., people living
outside are subject to a series of
interlinking policies ­– a form of
“poverty governance” and are
cycled through violent camp
displacements.
With skyrocketing rents, low
vacancies, growing inequal-
ity in the face of massive in-
flation, and exceptionally low
income-assistance rates, more
people will be forced to live in
public spaces until emergen-
cy-level intervention occurs.
Meanwhile, multiple levels
of government across B.C. have
upped the ante on displace-
ments with offers of inade-
quate and dangerous shelters,
or none. Bill 34 would give the
police another tool to displace
people to nowhere.
❱❱ PAGE 22 B.C. ban on
 10
Darien Gap: As migrants take deadly
risks for better lives, Canada and the
U.S. must do much more
BY TANYA BASOK,
University of Windsor,
GUILLERMO CANDIZ,
Université de l'Ontario français
The Conversation
Canadian Immigration Min-
ister Marc Miller recently an-
nounced that as many as 15,000
displaced people with extended
family connections in Canada
— most of them from Colombia,
Haiti and Venezuela and located
in Central or South America or
the Caribbean — are now eligible
to apply to immigrate to Canada
on a humanitarian basis.
By announcing this measure,
Canada affirmed its commit-
ment to a joint initiative, known
as Safe Mobility, launched by
the United States in April 2023
to stem the irregular crossings
of hundreds of thousands of
people into the U.S. by offering
alternatives.
These 15,000 people repre-
sent a small number of as many
as 400,000 displaced people
expected to cross the Darien
Gap, a 100-kilometre stretch of
treacherous jungle shared by
Colombia and Panama, in 2023
in search of safety, security and
protection.
Forced to migrate by political
instability, repression and oth-
er hardships, people from Vene-
zuela, Cuba, Ecuador and Haiti
represent most of the displaced
people who have crossed the
Darien Gap in the last few years.
As many migrants told us
when we interviewed them
in Tijuana in northern Mexi-
co and Tapachula in the south
of Mexico between 2018 and
Kishida’s visit to..
❰❰ 7 with various business
leaders and investors.
Marcos’ Japan
trip led to the signing of about
USD13 billion (PHP738 billion)
worth of investment pledg-
es expected to generate about
24,000 jobs for Filipinos.
Kishida also pledged in Feb-
Canada News
2022, crossing the continent is
not for the faint of heart.
They may experience harass-
ment, extortion or detention by
migration authorities, violence
perpetrated by criminals and
abuse by deceitful unscrupu-
lous smugglers. The number
of lives lost in the Darien Gap,
including children and adoles-
cents, is increasing.
Cracking down in Costa Rica
In the past, at least for Ven-
ezuelans, it was not necessary
to cross the jungle. They were
able to travel to Costa Rica,
for instance, by air. As many as
12,533 Venezuelans applied for
refugee status in Costa Rica be-
tween 2015 and August 2021.
But to curtail this flow, the
Costa Rican government in-
troduced a visa requirement in
2022 for Venezuelans, forcing
people who wished to travel to
the country to undertake the
dangerous journey through the
Darien Gap.
But the problems for Venezu-
elan asylum-seekers don’t end
there. As the migrants and NGO
representatives in our study told
us, the current wait time for the
first eligibility interview with
Costa Rican immigration offi-
cials is 10 years. The Costa Rican
refugee unit is severely under-re-
sourced and heavily reliant on
international assistance.
Further curtailing refugee
rights, Costa Rica introduced re-
forms in late 2022 that prevent
asylum-seekers who have trav-
elled through third countries
from making refugee claims.
Nicaraguan refugees
Ironically, the vast majori-
ty of the refugee applications
ruary to provide 600 billion yen
(USD4.6 billion) in official de-
velopment assistance and pri-
vate-sector investment to sup-
port the Philippines’ economic
development plan to become an
upper middle-income country
by 2025. ■
Costa Rica receives today are
not from people who cross the
Darien Gap. The political vio-
lence and repression in Nicara-
gua since 2018 have propelled
many to flee to Costa Rica.
As of June 2022, Costa Rica
hosted 205,000 asylum seek-
ers — 89 per cent of them from
Nicaragua.
To deter new arrivals from
Nicaragua from presenting ref-
ugee claims or obtaining the
status, the Costa Rican reforms
announced on December 2022
changed certain rules and reg-
ulations. These measures were
criticized by the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refu-
gees and NGO representatives
we interviewed in Costa Rica
in 2023. In fact, the Costa Ri-
can Supreme Court found some
Filipinos who returned..
❰❰ 3 nangyayaring iyon
ay sa Gaza City or sa
northern Gaza. Lahat
ng mga ito ay nasa Khan Yunis
or southern Gaza, tingin namin
naputulan lang ito ng kuryente
or walang internet, sana. (Our
Embassy thinks they are safe
because most of the casualties
www.canadianinquirer.net
provisions of these reforms un-
constitutional.
The scene in Mexico
Unlike Costa Rica, Mexico,
under pressure from the U.S.,
encourages migrants in transit
toward the U.S. border to seek
asylum in Mexico.
By the end of 2022, the num-
ber of refugee claimants in Mex-
ico from other Central Ameri-
can countries, Haiti, Venezuela
and Cuba had reached 120,000.
However, they were forced to
remain in the southern state of
Chiapas while their claims were
reviewed, and the migrants we
interviewed reported harass-
ment by official authorities and
destitution.
Other studies support their
claims. Furthermore, most mi-
grants we interviewed in Mexico
are from Gaza City or northern
Gaza. These Filipinos are in
Khan Yunis or southern Gaza,
we think they’re communica-
tion were just cut off. We hope
it’s just that),” he said.
“So out of the 136, a total of 126
are accounted for,” he added. ■
NOVEMBER 3, 2023 FRIDAY
told us they had no intention of
staying in Mexico even if recog-
nized as refugees because they
did not consider the country safe.
U.S., Canada, must step up
In April 2023, the U.S. State
Department and the Depart-
ment of Homeland Security
announced new measures to
deport all migrants and asy-
lum-seekers who crossed the
southern U.S. border by irregu-
lar means. The U.S. also intro-
duced the Safe Mobility initia-
tive to process applications for
admissions submitted in offices
set up in Colombia, Ecuador,
Costa Rica and Guatemala.
The U.S. promised to admit
up to 30,000 people a month
from Venezuela, Nicaragua,
Guatemala, Cuba and Haiti.
Not only is this protection sta-
tus temporary — a two-year hu-
manitarian parole rather than
permanent residency — but it’s
conditional upon a “supporter”
present in the U.S.
Canada’s recent announce-
ment fails to make it clear
whether admitting 15,000 dis-
placed people is a one-off mea-
sure or whether Canada is set-
ting an annual target.
Regardless, it doesn’t come
anywhere close to meeting the
needs of the displaced people
in the Americas. Canada should
consider expanding its refugee
resettlement program to assist
more asylum-seekers in des-
perate conditions in this region,
not only those with family ties
in Canada. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
Climate proofing merged..
❰❰ 3 activities for buildings
and structures.
In August, a total
of 266 lawmakers voted to ap-
prove HB 8500, which contains
the country’s proposed new Na-
tional Building Code or law. No
lawmaker voted against the bill
or abstained from voting. ■
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2023
How to ensure Alberta’s oil and gas workers
have jobs during the energy transition
BY JOSHUA M. PEARCE,
Western University
The Conversation
Retraining Alberta’s oil and
gas workers for the solar indus-
try costs far less than you think.
The results of our new study
clearly show that a rapid transi-
tion to sustainable energy pro-
duction is feasible, as costs of
retraining oil and gas workers
are far from prohibitive.
Probable futures
The oil and gas indus-
try has played a crucial
part in Alberta’s political
structure for decades.
Alberta contains about
97 per cent of all oil
stores in Canada, which
ranks third globally for
oil and gas exports.
Over 20 per cent of the
GDP and 5.9 per cent of
all employment in Alber-
ta is tied to the oil and gas
industry, which employs
over 35,000 people.
However, many factors
— including increasing
electrification, reduc-
tion in renewable energy
costs and climate policy
— are aligning to annihi-
late Alberta’s traditional
fossil-fuel focused ener-
gy industry. This raises a
real concern for oil and
gas workers’ jobs in the near fu-
ture.
A confluence of events
Purchases of electric vehicles
(EVs) are already up 35 per cent
this year after a record year, and
predicted to increase. This indi-
cates that oil-based transporta-
tion is quickly coming to an end.
In addition to lower costs of
ownership, EVs can also offer
electric grid support by acting
like mobile batteries that can
help overcome the renewable
energy intermittency chal-
lenge by storing wind and solar
electricity for when they are
needed. In addition, conven-
tional electric storage reduces
electricity costs while servicing
the grid with intermittent gen-
erators.
These technologies not only
help expand opportunities for
renewable energy technologies,
but they also electrify trans-
portation, which directly un-
dermines the market for the oil
industry.
Similarly, the market for the
gas industry is challenged by
the use of electric-powered heat
pumps. In North America, so-
lar-powered heat pumps have
already become economically
viable. And for the first time in
history heat pump sales outper-
formed conventional natural gas
An approach
to keeping
livelihoods is to
retrain oil and
gas workers
for the solar
industry, where
there are lots
of desperately
needed jobs.
furnaces in the United States.
Similarly, solar electricity
is now the cheapest electrici-
ty to produce — and although
gas-fired electricity is better
for the environment and more
economic than coal, gas simply
cannot compete with modern
solar technologies.
Competition in Alberta
Alberta allows electricity
generators to sell electricity to
the grid in a free market set-up.
When the “pause” on renew-
able development in Alberta is
lifted, it will create a massive
solar boom.
Currently, there is a backlog
of over $30 billion of hugely
profitable solar projects in Al-
berta, poising the province for
a historic surge in super-cheap
solar power. Simultaneously,
the costs for carbon emissions
are becoming even more clear
Canada News 11
in terms of money and human two-year college degree, four- donate the rest for five years.
deaths. This is only going to year university degree, gradu- That would be enough to re-
make oil and gas more expen- ate degree. train all of Alberta’s oil and gas
sive, whether from likely in- Retraining costs workers.
creased costs in carbon-regu- We found the total costs for Similarly, with fossil fuels
lated emissions or trillions in retraining all oil sands workers peaking soon, companies could
carbon emissions liabilities. in Alberta for the solar indus- also prioritize retraining for their
Canada’s oil sands are the try ranges between $91.5 and workers as they transition to car-
most polluting type of oil pro- $276.2 million. In context, this bon-free energy themselves.
duced in the world today — is a small amount of money for Provincial and federal gov-
finding ways to feasibly phase the energy industry — only two ernments could also provide
them out is a key climate prior- to six per cent of federal, pro- financial incentives or compen-
ity. If Canada makes good on its vincial and territorial oil and sation for the costs of retrain-
net zero by 2050 prom- gas subsidies for a single year ing. And finally, workers who
ise — essentially cutting would need to be reallocated notice the writing on the wall
all fossil fuel use — it is to provide oil and gas workers could start retraining at their
pretty clear that Alber- with a new career of approxi- own expense.
ta’s oil and gas workers mately equivalent pay. In the end, while there are
will no longer have jobs. Currently, Canada spends legitimate reasons to fear for
Retraining for solar more than $30 billion annually to long-term employment in Can-
An approach to keep- fund social services for the home- ada’s oil and gas sector, the re-
ing livelihoods is to re- less population. It makes more sources needed to retrain the
train oil and gas workers sense to retrain workers whose workers for the solar industry
for the solar industry, jobs are about to evaporate. can be easily made available for
where there are lots of The costs to retrain oil and this energy transition. ■
desperately needed jobs. gas workers could be funded in
In the U.S., similar ef- many ways. For example, a Ca- This article is republished
forts are underway to nadian CEO in the oil and gas from The Conversation under a
retrain the 50,000 work- sector could agree to reduce his Creative Commons license.
ers in the coal industry annual salary to $500,000 and
to join the more than
250,000 solar workers.
My colleagues and I
completed a study on
exactly what that would
cost. Because many jobs
in the solar industry re-
quire similar skill sets
and training as gener-
al construction work,
many oil and gas workers would
be able to transfer fields with no
additional training required.
We used the U.S. Solar Census
data to examine distributions
of workers that would keep the
same type of work in the oil and
gas industry of Alberta.
We put ourselves — figurative-
ly — into the workboots of the oil
workers to future-proof their
careers. When our oil worker
skills did not align directly with
a position type in the solar field,
workers were assigned one of a
few different types of positions
that would require the least re-
training possible.
Multiple different retraining
options were outlined — uni-
versities, colleges and online
courses currently available in
Alberta — to provide cost esti-
mates for each different type of
retraining: trades certification,
www.canadianinquirer.net
12 Canada News NOVEMBER 3, 2023 FRIDAY

Israel-Hamas war: Canada must act to

prevent hate crimes against Muslim
and Jewish communities
BY DAVUT AKCA, Lakehead crimes against Muslim (71 per calate following Israeli assaults, being in certain places and at- how best to intervene in conflicts
University cent) and Jewish (47 per cent) whereas incidents of hate tending group activities. among diaspora groups.
The Conversation Canadians. crimes against Muslims in- Canada’s role In a broader sense, the Cana-
Canada has the fourth-larg- crease after Palestinian attacks. To prevent the spillover effects dian government should active-
est Jewish community in the The threat against Muslim of the conflict between Israel ly engage in diplomatic efforts
The violence in Israel and world, with a population of over and Jewish communities has and Hamas, the Canadian gov- through international organi-
Palestine has reached brutal 390,000, and a Muslim popula- become more concerning given ernment should take a proactive zations and bilateral relation-
and devastating levels in recent tion of around two million peo- the rising violence in the region role. This includes fostering a sin- ships to reduce the violence we
weeks. Thousands have been ple. In recent years, there have and its potential spillover. cere dialogue and understanding are now seeing.
killed and injured. Witnessing been violent attacks against These effects on diaspora among diverse communities Canada has committed to
the extreme violence against ci- Muslim Canadians such as the groups have been observed across through genuine campaigns and provide humanitarian assis-
vilians has been polar- different countries. listening to the concerns of each tance to Gaza and called for
izing for many around Turkish and Kurdish affected community. Communi- “humanitarian pauses on hos-
the world. diasporas in Europe ty leaders must also be involved tilities,” but much more must
In such a climate, have been affected by in these efforts. be done to ensure a fair and
potential hate crimes the decades-long con- Establishing hate crime inves- peaceful resolution. Much of
and the spillover ef- flict between the Turk- tigation units within Canadian the world has called for an im-
fects of the ongoing Jewish Canadians have ish government and police forces is a more profes- mediate ceasefire, however,
conflict need to be been attacked through a the Kurdistan Workers’ sional approach to preventing Canada remains among a mi-
addressed and gov- Party. and investigating hate crimes. nority of countries to not do so.
ernments need to variety of hate crimes... Occasional ten- Communities should be in- Canada must join calls for an
take action to prevent sions and violence formed about the existence of urgent ceasefire to end the vi-
grave consequences. break out between these units, and invited to come olence in Israel and Palestine,
Dehumanizing rheto- diaspora communi- forward when they feel intimi- and avoid violence at home. ■
ric is further inflaming ties, especially when dated or witness any hate crimes.
the situation and risks the political situation Police officers should also be This article is republished
leading to even more extreme killing of the Afzaal family in back home becomes fraught or trained about the unique aspects from The Conversation under a
violence. London, Ont., the mosque attack violent. Similar tensions have of international conflicts and Creative Commons license.
Already, we have witnessed that killed six Muslims during been seen between Turkish and
tragic consequences of the prayers in Québec, and violent Armenian diasporas and Hindu
violence unfold in different attacks against hijab-wearing and Muslim diasporas.
communities. A Chicago-area Muslim women in Alberta. Rising hate crimes can neg-
man was recently arrested and Jewish Canadians have been atively affect the psychological
charged with murder and hate attacked through a variety of and physical well-being of dias-
crimes after police alleged he hate crimes including vandal- pora communities. Even if they
stabbed a six-year-old Palestin- ism and graffiti, online and are not directly targeted, people
ian-American boy to death. offline racist propaganda and can experience fear and insecu-
Police in Toronto and Mon- bomb threats to Jewish schools rity in their daily lives.
treal have reported an increase and community centres. In a recent research study
in hate crime calls since the be- Conflicts trigger hate crimes on the impacts of hate crimes,
ginning of the conflict on Oct. 7. A 2021 study from the United colleagues and I found that vic-
Hate on the rise States explored whether the Is- tims significantly changed their
Recent statistics indicate raeli-Palestinian conflict leads lifestyles to avoid conflict; as a
that religiously motivated hate to acts of hatred towards Jews result, they became alienated
crimes are on the rise in Can- and Muslims. The study discov- from their own community and
ada. There has been a 67 per ered that instances of conflict society. These changes might
cent increase in police-report- trigger hate crimes, displaying include moving to another
ed hate crimes from 2020 to a retaliatory trend: occurrences neighbourhood or city, chang-
2021, with a specific rise in hate of hate crimes against Jews es- ing daily routines and avoiding

www.canadianinquirer.net
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2023
In the Israel-Hamas war, children are the
ultimate pawns – and ultimate victims
BY OMER BARTOV, Brown
University
The Conversation
In 1903, a local mob killed
49 Jews, including several chil-
dren, and raped and wound-
ed 600 others, in the city of
Kishinev, then part of the Rus-
sian Empire. These three days
of violence later became known
as the Kishinev pogrom.
A few days later, the Jew-
ish-Russian poet Hayim Nah-
man Bialik published a Hebrew
poem that every Israeli school
child still knows today.
I am a scholar of the Ho-
locaust and genocide. When
thinking about the unfolding
Israel-Hamas war, I am re-
minded of this Bialik poem, “On
the Slaughter.” It laments Jew-
ish helplessness and victim-
hood – and condemns apathy to
violence, including the murder
of children.
Bialik writes:
“And damned be he who says:
Avenge!
Such vengeance, for the blood
of a small child,
Satan has yet to devise.”
Hamas militants killed ap-
proximately 30 Israeli children
when they attacked civilians on
Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than
1,400 people altogether. At least
20 Israeli children remain hos-
tage in Gaza.
Since Oct. 7, Israeli airstrikes
have killed more than 2,000
Palestinian children and more
than 8,000 people overall, ac-
cording to the Hamas-run Min-
istry of Health in Gaza.
Israel’s attacks on Gaza began
intensifying on Oct. 28, as Israeli
ground forces entered Gaza.
Both sides in this war have
focused on the deaths and kid-
napping of children, sharing
images and videos of the chil-
dren as a testament to the other
side’s cruelty.
Particularly, Hamas’ slaugh-
ter of Israeli children evokes
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collective Jewish memories of
pogroms and the Holocaust –
and the attempt to annihilate
the Jewish people.
For Palestinians, too, the kill-
ing of their children represents
both the injustice of Israeli rule
and occupation, and the per-
ceived attempt to stop Pales-
tinians from having their own
country. The collective Pales-
tinian memory of the Nakba in
1948, when Israeli forces killed
thousands of Palestinians and
pushed out 750,000 people from
their homes, is replete with tales
of children who lost both their
homeland and their parents.
A new kind of protection
Bialik ended up emigrating to
what was then called Palestine
in 1924, and today he is consid-
ered Israel’s national poet.
Bialik wrote a longer poem,
titled “In The City of Slaughter,”
in 1904, after he visited the site
of the Kishinev pogrom. Bialik
fumed against Jewish men for
hiding, instead of protecting their
wives and daughters from rape.
Bialik called for a new type
of warlike Jewish manhood. If
neither God nor the authorities
could protect them from slaugh-
ter, Jews had to create a state of
their own – and Jewish men had
to learn to fight and kill.
Over the next four decades, the
numbers of slaughtered Jews, in-
cluding children, piled up.
In the Holocaust, Nazis and
their collaborators killed an esti-
mated 1.5 million Jewish children.
It was this kind of violence
against defenseless innocents
that the establishment of Israel
in 1948 was supposed to prevent.
‘Never again’
Most Jews who emigrated to
Israel in the late 1940s were Ho-
locaust survivors. They had ex-
perienced precisely the kind of
defenselessness that Israel said
it would never allow to happen
again. Their sense of vulnerabil-
ity and their memory of victim-
ization were transmitted from
one generation to another.
The popular slogan “never
again,” referring to the Holo-
caust, meant what Bialik had
intended: not only the preven-
tion of violence against Jew-
ish people, but a new breed of
tough and brave Jewish fight-
ers, prepared to die for their
new homeland.
Israel’s failure to protect its
people is partially why the Oct.
7 attacks were so shocking to
the Israeli public.
The Israeli military’s delayed
response left people in the at-
tacked communities feeling
utter helplessness. The inten-
tional cruelty of Hamas’ kill-
ings, often videotaped and live-
streamed, reminded Israelis of
past anti-Jewish violence.
Children in Gaza
In the Gaza Strip, meanwhile,
half of the population is young-
er than 18.
In 2014, Israel airstrikes,
coming in response to intense
rocket fire from Gaza, killed
over 500 Palestinian children.
The Israeli government de-
scribed the children’s deaths as
unfortunate, but unavoidable.
The reasoning is that bombing
presumed Hamas targets was
much less risky and costly, in
terms of Israeli lives, than a
ground incursion into Gaza.
Since Oct. 7, Israel has carried
out unprecedentedly massive
aerial bombardments of Gaza.
The images of dead and mu-
tilated Palestinian children
have served to mute some peo-
ple’s criticism of Hamas’ Oct.
7 attacks on Israelis – and to
heighten other people’s sense
of Palestinian innocence and
Israeli brutality.
There are two major differ-
ence between this round of
killing and previous ones, most
prominently in 2014.
First, this time the violence
began with the slaughter of over
1,400 Israelis.
Second, Israel’s current
bombing campaign has killed
more Palestinians, including
www.canadianinquirer.net
children, than at any other time
in the past.
Hamas’ slaughter of Jew-
ish children is now being re-
ciprocated by what the Israel
Defense Forces says are unin-
tended – but certain – killings
of even larger numbers of Pal-
estinian children.
Children are the ultimate
victims
Both sides in the Israel-Hamas
war are now flaunting and wea-
ponizing their child victims to
support their political causes.
For the Israelis and their
supporters, the murder and
kidnapping of children shows
the inhumanity of Hamas and
its supporters – and fuels calls
for violent retribution.
For Palestinians and their
supporters, Israel’s killing of
even more children in Gaza
helps wipe away Hamas’ crimes
and exposes Israel’s alleged in-
tent to kill all Palestinians.
Many people have flooded so-
cial media with images and videos
of killed Palestinian and Israeli
children, as well as bloody crime
scenes where they were killed.
People have plastered post-
ers of kidnapped Israeli chil-
dren across the streets in Amer-
13
ican and European cities – and
have videotaped those who tear
them down.
But in Israel, at least, the me-
dia has mostly avoided showing
images of both Jewish and Pal-
estinian child victims. Showing
kidnapped or killed Israeli chil-
dren is considered demoralizing,
and showing killed Palestinian
children is considered to be ene-
my propaganda. In Gaza, people
have been photographed and re-
corded carrying and mourning
dead children, wrapped in blood-
stained white cloth.
Is this Satan’s vengeance
for the violence of men? In his
deepest hour of despair, Bialik
never hoped for more violence
as a response to a massacre. As
he wrote 120 years ago:
“If there is justice – May it
appear at once!
But if it appears
Only after I had been eradi-
cated under the sky -
May its throne be toppled
forever!
And may Heaven rot in ever-
lasting evil.” ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
14
King Charles in Kenya: despite past
tensions, the visit is a sign of a strong
relationship with Britain
BY POPPY CULLEN,
Loughborough University
The Conversation
King Charles’ visit to Kenya
this week is the British mon-
arch’s first to a Commonwealth
nation since his coronation
in September 2022. The vis-
it comes during the country’s
60th anniversary of indepen-
dence from Britain.
By choosing Kenya, the Brit-
ish government and monarchy
seek to highlight the impor-
tance they attribute to the east
African nation. It also shows
other Commonwealth mem-
bers that it’s possible for a re-
public to have a positive rela-
tionship with Britain. Some
Commonwealth states like
Jamaica are contemplating re-
moving the king as head of state.
King Charles’ visit is meant
to celebrate the warm relation-
ship between the two countries.
It will also acknowledge the
more painful aspects of the UK
and Kenya’s shared history.
The relationship with Kenya
remains one of Britain’s more
positive post-colonial rela-
tionships. However, there have
been calls for Britain to apolo-
gise and make reparations for
its brutal suppression of free-
dom fighters. People in Kenya,
Britain and other former colo-
nies will be watching closely to
see what the king has to say.
I’m a historian who has stud-
ied and written about the polit-
ical relationship between Brit-
ain and Kenya in the decades
after independence. In my view,
the relationship has taken a
positive tilt since independence
for three reasons. These are: the
choices of Kenya’s first inde-
pendent president; diplomatic,
economic and ideological align-
ments; and military ties.
Kenya and Britain’s history
Kenya became a British col-
ony in the late 19th century. A
small minority of white British
settlers held almost all of the po-
litical and economic power. The
British government planned
to make Kenya a “multi-racial”
World News
state. The small white European
and Asian populations of 55,700
and 176,600 people, respective-
ly, would have equal or more
power than the black majority of
8.3 million. Only in 1960 did the
British government accept that
Kenya should have majority rule
and independence.
Independence celebrations
in 1963 were preceded by a
difficult period of negotiation
and violence. A state of emer-
gency was declared in 1952 in
response to the Mau Mau up-
rising. This was an armed rebel-
lion among one of Kenya’s ma-
jor tribes, the Kikuyu, fighting
for land and freedom.
The emergency lasted until
1960. Over this period, thou-
sands of Kenyans were killed,
and tens of thousands were de-
tained in camps without trial.
The camps became sites of vio-
lence and abuse.
With this past, a close post-co-
lonial relationship between
Kenya and Britain can appear
surprising. It was expected that
Kenya would turn away from
Britain and towards other inter-
national partners, such as the
US or the Soviet Union.
Instead, the relationship has
largely been close and friendly,
with trade benefits, alignment
on significant issues and strong
military ties.
Positive relations
Kenya’s first president, Jomo
Kenyatta, had been imprisoned
by Britain as a leader of the Mau
Mau. But once he took leader-
ship, he opted to work primarily
with Britain.
Kenyatta saw the benefits he
could get from this relation-
ship. These included financial
and military backing during the
Cold War, and personal back-
ing. In 1965, Britain made plans
to protect Kenyatta if a coup
was attempted.
British officials were sur-
prised but pleased by Kenyat-
ta’s position. They had many
interests in Kenya, ranging from
trade to diplomacy. One key in-
terest was Kenya’s white Euro-
pean and Asian populations who
held British passports. To help
NOVEMBER 3, 2023 FRIDAY
achieve their security, the Brit-
ish government financed the
purchase of their land, which
could then be sold to Kenyans.
Before independence, many in
Kenya had hoped for land re-
distribution. Instead, European
settlers got financial benefits.
For decades after indepen-
dence, Britain was Kenya’s
primary economic partner.
Currently, Britain is the larg-
est European investor in Ken-
ya and Kenya’s second-largest
export destination. There are
more than 200 British busi-
nesses operating in Kenya.
The British and Kenyan gov-
ernments have broadly aligned
on international diplomatic is-
sues like the Cold War, and later
the “war on terror”. There were
some exceptions, and the Kenyan
government did criticise British
policies towards white rule in
Rhodesia and apartheid in South
Africa. But in private the rela- King Charles (DAN MARSH/FLICKR, CC BY-SA 2.0)
tionship remained cordial.
Military connections Trade Licensing Act, for in- government denied having.
Military ties have been espe- stance, meant non-citizens (in- These files were only acknowl-
cially close. Britain remains a cluding many Asians) needed edged and released after 2011.
training partner. The royal visit work permits. This led to the In 2013, the British govern-
includes meeting Kenyan ma- immigration to Britain of 13,600 ment finally acknowledged that
rines trained by British marines. east African Asians in 1967. the government had known
Britain has also sold arms to The British government then about and been complicit in
Kenya and provided support to passed legislation to limit their torture and violence during the
set up a navy and air force after right to enter the UK despite emergency, and victims would
independence. their holding British passports. be paid compensation of £19.9
After independence, many After Ugandan president Idi million. The then foreign secre-
African countries expelled their Amin expelled the Asian pop- tary William Hague stated:
British military commanders ulation in 1972 – about 40,000 The British government sin-
to replace them with Africans. Asian Ugandans moved to the cerely regrets that these abuses
Kenya under Jomo Kenyat- UK – Britain offered aid to Ken- took place.
ta chose to keep British com- ya to ensure it didn’t follow a Pushing forward
manders. The Kenyan army similar policy. Despite moments of ten-
was led by a British officer until In 1982, after the Kenya Air sion, the two governments
1966, the navy until 1972 and Force attempted a coup, many have always sought to dispel
the air force until 1973. in Kenya’s elite became suspi- difficulties. The king’s visit, for
Most important for Britain cious of Britain’s aims in the instance, is on the invitation
is that its military is allowed country. of Kenya’s president William
to train in Kenya. This allows Since independence, some Ruto. Ruto made his first over-
them to practise in different in Kenya have questioned why seas visit as president to the UK
and difficult terrains. British troops still train in the for Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in
Closeness despite challenges country. The killing in 2012 of a September 2022.
The relationship between Kenyan woman, Agnes Wanjiru, Over six decades, the chal-
the two nations since inde- seemingly by British soldiers, lenges that have arisen have not
pendence has not always been exacerbated these grumblings. been enough to derail the rela-
smooth, however. The issue of the Mau Mau has tionship. ■
In 1967-68, Kenya increased also been a source of recent tension.
policies that discriminated Kenya has repeatedly asked This article is republished
against Kenyan Asians. The for archive files related to the from The Conversation under a
1967 Immigration Act and 1968 Mau Mau, which the British Creative Commons license.
www.canadianinquirer.net
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2023
Trump’s violent rhetoric echoes the
fascist commitment to a destructive
and bloody rebirth of society
BY MARK R. REIFF,
University of California, Davis
The Conversation
Former President Donald
Trump’s rhetoric has regularly
bordered on the incitement of
violence. Lately, however, it has
become even more violent. Yet
both the press and the public
have largely just shrugged their
shoulders.
As a political philosopher
who studies extremism, I be-
lieve people should be more
worried about this.
Mark Milley, the outgoing
chairman of the joint chiefs
of staff, is guilty of “treason,”
Trump said in September 2023,
just for reassuring the Chinese
that the U.S. had no plans to at-
tack in the waning days of the
Trump administration. And
for this, Trump says, Milley de-
serves death.
And back in April, Trump said
that his indictment by Man-
hattan District Attorney Alvin
Bragg would result in “death
and destruction.” Then, in early
October, Trump urged people
to “go after” Letitia James, the
New York attorney general who
filed suit against him for busi-
Former U.S. Pres. Donald Trump (GAGE SKIDMORE/FLICKR, CC BY-SA 2.0)
ness fraud.
Trump’s prior rhetoric is also
now on record as having in-
spired many of those convicted
to engage in insurrection at the
U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
But it is not just government
officials whom Trump sug-
gests be targeted for extrajudi-
cial killings. Mere shoplifters
should be killed too. “Very sim-
ply, if you rob a store, you can
fully expect to be shot as you are
leaving,” Trump said to cheers
at the California Republican
Party convention in September.
More than crazy bluster
This rhetoric may seem like
crazy bluster, which is no doubt
why many people appear pre-
pared to ignore it. But put in its
historical context, what Trump
is doing is echoing views that
are part of a long tradition of
illiberal and outright fascist
thought. For fascists have al-
ways seen the use of violence as
a virtue, not a vice.
First, this is the natural re-
sult of the way that fascist com-
munities define themselves.
According to Carl Schmitt, a
prominent Nazi and for a time
the official legal theorist of the
party under Adolf Hitler, one
builds and maintains a commu-
nity by identifying and vilifying
its enemies. And in this kind of
highly polarized environment,
the threat of violence always
hangs in the air.
Second, among fascists, ma-
chismo is much admired. For-
mer Brazilian President Jair
Bolsonaro, whose own
outrageous rhetoric has
also encouraged violent
behavior by his support-
ers, simply “beamed”
when Russian President
Vladimir Putin praised
him for his masculinity.
Trump often acts as a
sycophant for Putin too,
and machismo also is a
big part of Trump’s own
public persona.
Third, fascists are ob-
sessed with purity. They
long for a world where
they can live among their
own racial, ethnic, re-
ligious and ideological
kind on land they view as
exclusively theirs.
But in the real world,
people are too inter-
mixed for this to occur
naturally. True puri-
ty of community is an
aspiration that can be
made real only through
violence and subjuga-
tion. Hence the Holo-
caust,genocide and eth-
nic cleansing, and other more
limited attacks on minority and
immigrant populations.
Violence as noble and in-
toxicating
Fascists, then, see violence
as noble and intoxicating. For
example, Julius Evola, a far-
right intellectual active in It-
aly from 1920 to 1970 and the
author, among other things,
of “Fascism Viewed from the
Right” and “A Handbook for
Right-Wing Youth,” writes that
violence “offers man the oppor-
tunity to awaken the hero that
sleeps within him.”
Today, Evola is a favorite of
the alt-right, and he suggests
that a hero’s death is preferable
to a life built on liberal com-
promise. “The moment the in-
dividual succeeds in living as a
www.canadianinquirer.net
World News
hero,” Evola writes, “even if it is
the final moment of his earthly
life, weighs infinitely more on
the scale of values than a pro-
tracted existence consuming
monotonously among the triv-
ialities of cities.”
The ultraconservative Cath-
The idea is that
history moves in
cycles, the first
one being the
best and each
one thereafter
representing a
further decline.
The fourth cycle
is the worst,
and it ends only
when all existing
social institutions
are destroyed.
olic authoritarian and oppo-
nent of the French Revolution
Joseph de Maistre, who is rec-
ognized as one of the intellec-
tual forefathers of fascism, goes
even further.
“The whole earth, perpetual-
ly steeped in blood, is nothing
but a vast altar upon which all
that is living must be sacrificed
without end, without measure,
without pause, until the con-
summation of things, until evil
is extinct, until the death of
death,” Maistre writes. Indeed,
without an executioner, the
man who kills other men, Mais-
tre claims society could not
exist. For violence is necessary
to satisfy “men’s natural desire
to be destructive,” he writes;
it leaves them feeling “exalted
and fulfilled.”
15
Social disruption and de-
struction
These comments make clear
that fascists see violence as
something to be used for more
than just personal retribution
and intimidation. It is to be
used to create wider social dis-
ruption and destruction.
Not only are individuals
to be subject to attack,
but institutions and
norms as well.
Consider “The Fourth
Turning: An American
Prophecy,” a work by
two amateur historians
popular on the far right.
The book is actually a
restatement of Evola’s
theory of historical re-
gression, set forth in his
“Revolt against the Mod-
ern World.”
The idea is that histo-
ry moves in cycles, the
first one being the best
and each one thereafter
representing a further
decline. The fourth cycle
is the worst, and it ends
only when all existing
social institutions are
destroyed. This, in turn,
is an application of the
philosopher Friedrich
Nietzsche’s idea that
“one can build only in
a space which has been
previously razed to the ground.”
Then history will reset and
cycle once again.
Trump’s former adviser
Steve Bannon admires these
ideas so much he made a movie
about them.
Trump appears to embrace
these ideas too. “When the
economy crashes, when the
country goes to total hell, and
everything is a disaster, then
you’ll have riots to go back to
where we used to be, when we
were great,” he says.
Viewed in this context, not
taking Trump’s violent rhetoric
more seriously seems danger-
ous indeed. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
16
Palestinian Christians and Muslims have lived
together in the region for centuries − and
several were killed recently while sheltering
in the historic Church of Saint Porphyrius
BY CHRISTINE
SHEPARDSON, University of
Tennessee
The Conversation
A bomb struck the complex
of the historic Church of Saint
Porphyrius in Gaza on Oct. 19,
2023, killing more than a dozen
of the hundreds of Christians
and Muslims taking shelter in-
side and wounding others.
As a historian of Roman
Christianity who focuses on
the Eastern Mediterranean,
I am often confronted by the
complexity of this region. Many
Christian and Muslim families
in Gaza today were displaced in
1948, after the United Nations
divided this formerly Ottoman
land into new Arab and Jew-
ish states. Today’s Palestinian
Christians occupy a complicat-
ed place in this contested land.
The Church of Saint Por-
phyrius, or Porphyry, is named
for a fifth-century bishop
remembered for building a
church in the city and destroy-
ing the local temples to the Ro-
man gods. The current building
is a 19th-century renovation of
a church European Crusaders
built in the 12th century over
the remains of its fifth-century
predecessor, which had been
converted to a mosque. While
the number of Christians in
Gaza dwindled to a little over a
thousand in 2022, with roughly
50,000 more in the West Bank
and Jerusalem, the 1922 cen-
sus of the British Mandate of
Palestine reported over 73,000
in this region where Christians
have lived ever since Christian-
ity began.
Gaza’s early Christians
As Jesus’ first followers
spread the word about the sig-
nificance of his life, death and
resurrection, church communi-
ties sprang up around the Med-
iterranean. In the early fourth
century, the church historian
Eusebius of Caesarea commem-
orated Christians who died in
World News
the Roman persecution under
Emperor Diocletian, including
Christians from Gaza and their
bishop, Silvanus, in his “History
of Martyrs in Palestine.”
Toward the end of the fourth
century, a western Christian
nun named Egeria wrote a jour-
nal of her travels to Christian
sites in Egypt, Mount Sinai, Ro-
man Palestine, Syria and Mes-
opotamia. She described stop-
ping to see the places of biblical
events and receiving the bless-
ing of Christian monks living in
each region.
Early Christianity flour-
ished in the port city of Mai-
uma before spreading to the
main city of Gaza, a center of
Greek learning. In 325, Bish-
op Asclepas represented Gaza
at Emperor Constantine’s fa-
mous Council of Nicaea, which
established the Nicene Creed
that defines the central tenets
of Christian belief for most of
the world’s Christians today.
Twenty-first-century Palestin-
ian Christians include a variety
of communities with ties to this
early history.
Christians and Muslims in
medieval Gaza
In the early fifth century, the
small Christian community of
Gaza found a zealous leader in
Bishop Porphyry, whose force-
ful efforts to Christianize the
city are commemorated by the
historical church building ded-
icated to his memory today.
In the decades after Bishop
Porphyry’s death in 420, Chris-
tians in the eastern Mediterra-
nean, including the Christians of
Roman Palestine, were divided
over politicized theological con-
flicts. Those came to a head in 451
at the Roman emperor’s church
Council of Chalcedon, in mod-
ern-day Turkey, which defined
the Son of God in two natures,
one human and one divine.
Many of Roman Palestine’s
neighbors in Egypt, Syria and
Mesopotamia rejected this
council because they believed
the Son of God had a single na-
ture, at once human and divine.
They are called “miaphysite”
Christians, which in Greek
means “one nature.”
Most Christians of Roman
Palestine, however, accepted the
council and remained in the im-
perial church of Rome
and Constantinople that
centuries later, in 1054,
divided into Roman Ca-
tholicism and Eastern
Orthodoxy. Miaphysites,
Eastern Orthodox and
Roman Catholics today all
have churches in the land
that was Roman Palestine.
Less than a decade af-
ter the death of Islam’s
Prophet Muhammad in
632, his followers gov-
erned Palestinian Chris-
tians, and as a result Ara-
bic rather than Greek has
been the first language
of most of the region’s
Christians for more than
a thousand years.
When medieval Chris-
tian Crusaders reached
Jerusalem from western
Europe in 1099, they found not
only the Muslims they had come
to attack but also these ancient
local Christian communities
caught in the complex conflicts
of the region.
Palestinian Christians today
Most Palestinian Christians
www.canadianinquirer.net
today are Arab Christians and
part of the Eastern Orthodox
Church under the Greek Or-
thodox Patriarch of Jerusa-
lem. Other local Christians are
miaphysites in the Syrian, Cop-
tic, Ethiopian and Armenian
As Jesus’ first
followers spread
the word about
the significance
of his life, death
and resurrection,
church
communities
sprang up around
the Mediterranean.
Orthodox churches.
Still other Christians in this
region, such as Maronites, Chal-
deans, Syrian Catholics, Greek
Catholics and local Roman Cath-
olics, recognize the authority
of the pope and are in commu-
nion with the Roman Catholic
NOVEMBER 3, 2023 FRIDAY
Church. A variety of Protestant
churches have also more recent-
ly arrived in the region.
While diaspora communities
span the globe, including many
across North and South Amer-
ica, hundreds of thousands of
Palestinian Christians
continue to live in Is-
rael, the West Bank,
Jordan and Lebanon,
with smaller popula-
tions in Gaza and other
countries in the region.
Christian and Muslim
communities have been
neighbors in this land
for over 1,300 years. And
last week they sheltered
and suffered together
in Gaza’s St. Porphyri-
us Church when it was
bombed.
In oversimplifying the
story of the Middle East
to binary categories –
Muslims and Jews, right
and wrong, terrorists
and innocent – we lose
the ability to understand
the deeply layered his-
tory of this complex region.
Meanwhile, the land of Gaza
itself is in mourning under a
thick ashen shroud. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2023 World News 17

Centenarian recipients of..

War is always defeat, says ❰❰ 4 implementation of
the law, in pursuit of
plague of recognition and a cash
incentive from their respective

Pope Francis calling for honoring the contri-

butions of the centenarians in
nation-building.
city or municipal government
“in appropriate ceremonies” in
addition to the letter of felicita-

ceasefire in Gaza
The law also provides that tion and a PHP100,000 cente-
centenarians shall receive a narian gift from DSWD. ■

Anadolu
Philippine News Agency
LONDON – Pope Francis on
Sunday called for an immediate
ceasefire in Gaza amid escalat-
ing violence and a humanitar-
ian catastrophe in the enclave.
The Pope, addressing a crowd
of the faithful in St. Peter's
Square in Rome during his Sun-
day Angelus, urged the world to
join in prayer for the resolution
of the serious situation in Gaza.
He also appealed for the release
of all hostages held by Hamas.
"Let there be a ceasefire. War
is always a defeat -- always, al-
ways," he said.
"May no one abandon the
possibility that the weapons
might be silenced," he added.
Israel has heavily bombarded
Gaza since Oct. 7 when the Pales-
tinian group Hamas carried out a
cross-border attack, killing 1,400
people, and taking many hostages.
The number of Palestinians
killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza
has risen to 8,005, including
3,342 children, 2,062 women,
and 460 elderly, according to
the Health Ministry.
The Israeli army's spokesper-
Pope Francis (STEFANO GUIDI / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM)
son, Daniel Hagari, on Saturday
announced "expanding its oper-
ations," and moving to the "next
phase of our war against Hamas,"
which includes ground operations.
Gaza's 2.3 million residents
are also grappling with shortag-
es of food, water, fuel, and med-
icine due to Israel’s blockade of
the enclave. ■
Onion, garlic prices..
❰❰ 7 De Mesa attributed
the price hike in po-
tatoes to the spate of
typhoons that hit the country
in July and August.
He said the DA is looking into
the situation and expects that
the production and prices of po-
tatoes will stabilize, considering
Active collaboration between..
❰❰ 8 stakeholders to ac-
tively engage in the
Department of Edu-
cation's ongoing review of the
curriculum for Grades 11 and
12, saying it presents a valuable
opportunity to shape the edu-
cation of learners in prepara-
the incoming supply of crops by
the fourth quarter of 2023.
“The peak of harvest within
the last quarter this year up to
the first quarter of next year-
2024 will make a positive im-
pact on the supply and prices of
potatoes,” De Mesa said. ■
tion for the future of the semi-
conductor industry.
By participating in this process,
she said the industry could con-
tribute to ensuring that the cur-
riculum aligns with their work-
force needs and demands. ■

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18
Entertainment
The enduring appeal of Friends,
and why so many of us feel we’ve
lost a personal friend in Matthew Perry
BY ADAM GERACE,
CQUniversity Australia
The Conversation
The death of Matthew Perry,
best known for his role as Chan-
dler Bing in the television series
Friends, has seen an outpouring
of grief from fans and the Holly-
wood community.
His passing at age 54 has
shocked both those who ad-
mired his acting work,
as well as those who fol-
lowed his efforts to bring
awareness to the pains of
addiction.
Tributes to Perry have
understandably focused
on his star-making turn
on the incredibly pop-
ular television sitcom.
Scenes, catchphrases,
and his character’s lines
have been lovingly re-
purposed across the in-
ternet to memorialise
the gifted actor.
Meanwhile, many
viewers have situat-
ed their recollections
of Perry and the series
within the context of
their own experiences.
Viewers who came of age, or
were the characters’ ages during
the show’s original run, have
reminisced about what the work
of Perry and his co-stars meant
to them at formative times in
their lives. Newer viewers have
similarly shared how important
the series has been to them –
their relationship with the show
often beginning long after pro-
duction ended.
For many, Friends was the
television equivalent of the
soundtrack to their lives.
To appreciate the staying
power of the series for original
and newer viewers alike almost
30 years since it debuted, we
need to consider what func-
tions television viewing serves
and the bonds we form with its
characters.
Enduring appeal
Part of Friends’ popularity
lies in its timing. The show pre-
miered in 1994, a period when
network television was still
dominant. By its end a decade
later, while the power of the big
television networks had erod-
ed, the series had maintained
Matthew Perry
wanted his legacy
to be awareness of
addiction and the
help he provided to
people struggling
with this disorder.
an average of more than 20 mil-
lion viewers each season.
The 2004 finale brought in
a record-breaking 52.5 million
viewers in the United States.
The series then entered repeats
around the world. It hasn’t left
our screens since.
The late 90s and early 2000s
have sometimes been referred
to as the end of monoculture.
While a contested and contro-
versial idea because of, among
other concerns, who was includ-
ed and excluded on our screens,
monoculture meant we watched
many of the same things.
One of the most popular
shows of its era, Friends brought
NOVEMBER 3, 2023 FRIDAY
people together. It was a show low us to experience lifestyles affords us, but also because
we watched with our families or we might not otherwise. In their characters seem so real.
friends, spoke about the next day the case of Friends, who didn’t When the actors pass away, we
with colleagues, and it provid- want to live in a rent-controlled feel real grief.
ed a common connection. It al- apartment like Monica’s, or It’s important for fans of Mat-
lowed bonding with real friends regularly meet their support- thew Perry to acknowledge their
as much as fictional ones. ive and funny pals for coffee at loss. Even though his character
Friends did not only reflect Central Perk? As a teen, I imag- is fictional, and you didn’t know
style of the time; it also fre- ined such a world for myself in him personally, you can still feel
quently created it. Jennifer the not-too-distant future. sad. Watching the series may be
Aniston’s haircut, coined “The Younger generations might be difficult right now. With time, it
Rachel”, or Perry’s lovable more aware of how out-of-reach will become easier.
smart-alecky cadence, typified that lifestyle was, or find the Matthew Perry wanted his leg-
with Chandler’s catch- show’s humour sometimes dated. acy to be awareness of addiction
phrase of “Could I be But the idea of what the friends’ and the help he provided to peo-
any more…”, were end- lifestyle represented – possibility, ple struggling with this disorder.
lessly imitated. I know freedom, a chosen family – evi- Hopefully what will be felt now,
I attempted to replicate dently still holds appeal. alongside collective sadness, is
Chandler’s sweater vests Fictional relationships, an empathy for those facing ad-
and light blue denim but real sadness diction. That may be the power
look. Participation pro- In forming relationships of television, and of a character
vided viewers a sense of with fictional characters, we named Chandler, and the actor
identity. form bonds with the perform- who brought him to life, who
As people enter their ers who bring them to life. The many considered their friend. ■
30s and 40s, they often lines between character and
gravitate towards the creator become blurry, both be- This article is republished
memories made during cause of the knowledge about from The Conversation under a
their formative adoles- actors’ lives celebrity culture Creative Commons license.
cent and young adult
years. So perhaps it’s
no surprise Friends en-
dures for original view-
ers as it represents – and
was a part of – their lives
at this important time.
Likeable characters
Television and other fictional
media meet our needs for both-
pleasure and extracting mean-
ing. We get excited, entertained
and moved by television.
As part of this, we bond with
fictional characters. We cannot
help but empathise with them. A
series like Friends with its char-
acters and their combinations
of breakups, makeups and other
mishaps allowed us to safely use
our empathy muscles to cheer
on and sometimes commiserate
with the group of six. It helped
that each character was flawed
but inherently likeable.
Fictional characters also al- Matthew Perry (DAVID SHANKBONE/FLICKR, CC BY 2.0)
www.canadianinquirer.net
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2023
Britney Spears’ memoir is a reminder of the
stigma and potential damage of child stardom
BY JANE O’CONNOR,
Birmingham City University
The Conversation
Britney Spears’ new memoir,
The Woman in Me, illustrates
once again the potential life-
long damage that can be caused
by being a child star. Like many
before her, including Judy
Garland and Michael Jackson,
Spears was ushered into the
dangerous terrain of childhood
fame by the adults who were
supposed to be protecting her,
and was utterly unprepared to
deal with the fallout.
Spears’ father’s conservator-
ship, controlling every aspect of
her personal and professional
life, was finally rescinded in 2021.
She is now able to share the de-
tails of her extraordinary years in
the limelight and beyond.
From a sociological per-
spective, childhood is consid-
ered socially constructed. This
means that there are specific
ways of raising children which
are socially and culturally de-
fined. We discard these con-
ventions surrounding the early
years of life at our peril.
The boundaries and rules
around what is and is not ac-
ceptable during childhood,
and the normal activities and
institutions that shape the ex-
perience of being a child have
developed over the centuries
for a reason – to try and keep
children safe from the harsh re-
alities of the adult world.
‘Replacing Chef Chico’: First Filipino-
Produced Series Puts Love on the Menu
Netflix
For Filipinos, romance and
food make a sizzling combina-
tion, and the first local Netflix
production in a series format
serves up a zesty love triangle
set against the backdrop of a
high-end fine dining restaurant.
Being sexualised and valued
for your appearance, being paid
to work, having to deal with
criticism and unwanted atten-
tion from strangers – these are
all difficult aspects of growing
up. Children and teens need
careful support and guidance if
they are to navigate safely into
their adult lives and identities.
The experience of childhood
fame throws aside this social
safety net for children in every
possible way, and the conse-
quences can be disastrous.
The price of child fame
From the earliest child stars
of Hollywood’s golden age,
through the television sitcoms
and shows of the mid-20th
century, the rise of the pop and
film industries in the following
decades and the burst in pop-
ularity of reality TV and talent
shows of the early 21st century,
children have always featured.
Many have paid a heavy price for
their often short period of fame.
Sad stories of drug and alcohol
addiction, family disputes, crim-
inal activity and toxic relation-
ships are frequently reported by
the media. These reinforce the
stereotypical “child star gone
bad” and “too much too young”
narratives that the wider public
has come to expect.
For example, stories abound
of Macaulay Culkin “divorcing”
his controlling parents and his
difficulties transitioning into
adult life, feeling trapped in the
image of boyhood innocence of
his most famous character, Kev-
Replacing Chef Chico is the
brainchild of director Dan Vil-
legas, assistant director Joi
Bayan, and showrunner Antoi-
nette Jadaone. It stars three of
the biggest names in the local
entertainment industry — Pio-
lo Pascual (My Amanda), Ales-
sandra de Rossi (My Amanda
and What If ) and Sam Milby (A
in in the Home Alone movies.
In her autobiography actor
Drew Barrymore has written
about her casual acceptance
at Hollywood parties and con-
sumption of alcohol at a very
young age, following her role in
E.T. (1982) aged five.
There is also the tragic life
and death of Gary Coleman, cute
kid star of the American sitcom
Diff'rent Strokes (1978-1986).
Coleman, who died at 42 fol-
lowing a history of substance
abuseand depression, report-
ed being deeply humiliated by
people asking: “Didn’t you used
to be …?” when he was working
as a security guard at a super-
market as an adult.
Other possibilities
It’s important to note, how-
ever, that a difficult trajectory
is not the experience of all child
stars and former child stars. The
actors from the Harry Potter
films, for example, seem largely
to have transitioned well into
Family Affair).
Offering a glimpse into the
high-stakes and competitive
culinary world, the series’ trail-
er introduces viewers to the
main characters whose lives
become intertwined at Hain,
a fictional up-and-coming fine
dining restaurant that special-
izes in customizing each dish
www.canadianinquirer.net
Entertainment
adult lives and careers – some
in the spotlight, others not.
And the new generation of
famous children and teens such
as Millie Bobby Brown, star
of the Netflix show Stranger
Things(2016-present), seem
more prepared for fame than
their predecessors, in control
of their images and identities
via their own social media plat-
forms and potentially protect-
ed to some extent from extreme
sexualisation by the MeToo
movement.
Even so, Brown commented
on her 16th birthday that: “There
are moments I get frustrated
from the inaccuracy, inappro-
priate comments, sexualization,
and unnecessary insults.”
For Spears though, these were
more than moments. She details
in her memoir how the constant
public scrutiny of her body and
physical appearance, being val-
ued for her sexuality and treated
as a commodity have character-
to mirror their diners’ unique
life stories. But things take an
unexpected turn when titular
character Chef Chico (Milby)
gets into an accident, leaving
him in a coma. The fate of Hain
is suddenly left in the hands of
his sous chef Chef Ella (de Ros-
si) and a newly hired consultant
Raymond (Pascual), who has
19
ised her entire life.
It is no wonder she shaved her
head in 2007, a move interpret-
ed by the media as her having
“gone mad”, but in fact a pow-
erful indication of her anger at
being perceived as nothing more
than a dancing sex-doll. As she
writes in her memoir:
I knew a lot of guys thought
long hair was hot. Shaving my
head was a way of saying to the
world: fuck you. You want me to
be pretty for you? Fuck you. You
want me to be good for you? Fuck
you. You want me to be your
dream girl? Fuck you.
The sociologist Erving Goff-
man wrote about the stigma
of having a “spoiled identity”
whereby people carry with
them the public shame of trans-
gression or physical difference.
Being a former child star can
be stigmatising for many reasons,
including being constantly com-
pared to an ideal younger version
of yourself and not having had a
“normal” childhood or conven-
tional family relationships.
In this memoir, Britney at-
tempts to face down that stig-
ma and reclaim her identity
and person-hood as an adult.
In doing so, she demonstrates
that it can be possible to leave
the dangerous terrain of early
fame behind – but the journey
is a tough one. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
more than just the restaurant
on his mind.
Speaking to a panel of press
and outlets in the “See What’s
Next” event on September 18,
acclaimed showrunner Antoi-
nette Jadaone (Fan Girl and
That Thing Called Tadhana)
❱❱ PAGE 24 ‘Replacing Chef Chico’:
20
Japanese manhole covers are painted with
flowers, bridges, mountains and mascots –
and now they’re for sale
BY MARTYN SMITH,
University of Sheffield
The Conversation
Visitors to Japan are usually
primed to look up – at the vast
skyscrapers, the ornate tem-
ple gates, the traditional tim-
ber-framed guesthouses. Those
who look down at their feet,
though, might have noticed
something equally intriguing
on the ground. Ornate man-
hole covers in wrought iron,
often plain, sometimes brightly
painted, dot the country’s pave-
ments, separating street life
from the sewers that run below.
These objects have garnered
a considerable following of
“manholers” (as the hobbyists
are known), who will be delight-
ed to learn that city officials in
Kyoto and other local authori-
ties are now putting up retired
covers for sale. For ¥5,500
(£31), fans can purchase their
own 90kg piece of Japanese
street furniture.
A construction ministry em-
ployee came up with the idea of
decorative manhole covers in
the late 1970s. It was an attempt
to get the public on board not
just with costly upgrades to the
sewer system, but with the exis-
tence of the sewer system itself.
Beyond such efforts at cor-
porate social responsibility,
though, these urban ornaments
connect to a long-standing his-
torical urban planning concept,
“machizukuri”. They speak to
efforts revive local communities
and wider regional economies.
A successful marketing ploy
Today more than 90% of mu-
nicipalities have their own dis-
tinctive manhole cover designs.
The motifs used are often root-
ed in local history, geography
and culture.
They include the usual tra-
Lifestyle
ditional cherry blossoms, land-
scapes, castles, bridges, birds
and, as the Japan Ground Man-
hole Association website puts
it, the wind and the Moon. Oth-
ers reference sports teams, an-
ime and local mascots.
Yokohama, in the summer
of 2023, got four new Pikachu
lids, when the city became the
first in Japan to host the an-
nual Pokemon world cham-
pionship. These weren’t the
first Pokemon-themed covers
though. On the Pokelids web-
site you can see similar designs
mapped out across the country,
from Hokkaido in the north to
Kyushu in the south.
Manhole designs now adorn
keychains, t-shirts and mugs,
as well as a trading card game.
An annual manhole summit has
been organised since 2012. The
tenth edition, held in Tokoroza-
wa on December 1 2022, at-
tracted an estimated 14,000
visitors.
This popularity is partially
down to the successful pub-
licity of the local agencies that
manage the sewerage networks.
Replacing worn-out covers is
expensive. As the sewers are
mainly run by local authorities,
it is taxpayers’ money that gets
spent on replacements – so get-
ting the public on side is crucial.
Capitalising on the covers’ pop-
ularity could also now be a good
source of revenue for debt-lad-
en public bodies.
Community building
Manhole covers sometimes
provide tourist information at
sightseeing spots and sports
events or outline emergency
escape routes in the event of an
earthquake or tsunami. Some
include QR codes and augment-
ed reality.
This speaks to the urban de-
sign trend of machizukuri, a
term which combines machi
(best translated as “community”
or “shared space”, a place both
physical and intangible in which
community comes together and
social activities take place) with
zukuri (which means “produc-
ing” and “nurturing”). The idea
connects urban planning with
community building.
By the late 1960s, the envi-
ronmental damage caused by
Japan’s rapid economic growth
after 1945 was becoming im-
possible to ignore. The period
was also a time of tumultuous
student and anti-war protest.
Machizukuri emerged as
an idealistic philosophy that
aimed to improve the everyday
environment through a bot-
tom-up transformation, involv-
ing citizens, experts and local
officials. The idea was to enliv-
en urban areas by energising
residents and reveal the spirit
of the locality.
The term was more wide-
ly used in the mid-1970s and
www.canadianinquirer.net
through the 1980s, as nation-
al economic policy brought
increasing free trade in agri-
culture, relocated large facto-
ries overseas and privatised
state-owned businesses. These
neo-liberal reforms were a ma-
jor cause of the now well-known
problems of rural depopulation
and ageing in Japan.
Ultimately, the responsibility
for rural revitalisation shifted
on to municipalities. Local au-
thorities were tasked with find-
ing creative ways to sustain and
revive local economies. The ide-
alistic philosophical notion of
machizukuri of the late-1960s
was coopted by the changing
economic imperatives of cen-
tral government.
In the 1990s, tourism – do-
mestic and inbound foreign
– became a primary tool for
machizukuri. Local authorities
in declining rural areas tapped
into a national sense of nostalgia
in their campaigns to attract do-
NOVEMBER 3, 2023 FRIDAY
mestic visitors. Small towns and
villages became the repository
of what the popular mass me-
dia came to describe as the “real
Japan”, the one left behind and
forgotten in the rapid transfor-
mation of the postwar years.
The bubble economy of the
early 1990s saw amusement
parks, golf clubs, holiday resorts
and out-of-town shopping cen-
tres populate the landscape and
create jobs. Transportation to
major cities was vastly improved
through high-speed rail and
highway networks. Local special-
ities – food, farming products,
arts and crafts – were commodi-
fied and marketed. As elsewhere,
the connection between localism
and economic ideologies, such
as post-developmentalism and
neoliberalism, has become cen-
tral to the growth of consumer
society in Japan.
Fans who decide to invest in
a manhole cover are not just
buying a pretty, heavy piece of
artwork but something with
cultural significance, that
speaks to a feeling of shared
belonging and communal life.
The fact that they are even for
sale also highlights how fragile
– how under threat – this feel-
ing is. Local communities, after
all, have been destroyed by the
neoliberal economy of the last
four decades.
Machizukuri effectively cre-
ates a marketplace for nostal-
gia. These decorative manhole
covers are simply one more
element in the commodifica-
tion of the spaces and places
in which everyday life takes
place. A pragmatic approach to
sewerage management has be-
come another opportunity to
go shopping. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2023
Day of the Dead is taking on Halloween
traditions, but the sacred holiday is far
more than a ‘Mexican Halloween’
BY MATHEW SANDOVAL,
Arizona State University
The Conversation
Many Latinos regularly de-
clare: “Día de los Muertos is not
Mexican Halloween.” The dec-
laration is increasingly repeat-
ed by non-Latinos too.
Drawing a clear line between
the two holidays is a rhetorical
strategy to protect Day of the
Dead’s integrity as Mexican cul-
tural heritage and separate it
from American popular culture.
However, as a Mexican-Amer-
ican who celebrates Día de los
Muertos and as a scholar of cul-
ture and performance, I believe
it’s time to fully acknowledge the
cultural intermixing that’s hap-
pening between the two holidays.
Halloween’s influence is
transforming Día de los Muer-
tos into a hybrid cultural tradi-
tion that simultaneously hon-
ors the dead and celebrates the
macabre.
The origins of the distinction
Día de los Muertos is a tra-
ditional fiesta in honor of the
deceased that is celebrated in
Mexico and other parts of Lat-
in America on Nov. 1 and 2. The
holiday is celebrated though
ritual observations like con-
structing altars filled with offer-
ings to the dead and decorating
family gravesites to commune
with the dead. Day of the Dead
is also commemorated through
vivacious fiestas in which com-
munities gather in town plazas
and community centers to cel-
ebrate by dancing, playing mu-
sic, feasting, drinking and mas-
querading as death.
Although Day of the Dead
is a long-standing tradition
in Mexico, the holiday wasn’t
celebrated widely or publicly
among Latinos in the U.S. That
changed in the 1970s and 1980s
when artists and activists intro-
duced Day of the Dead to their
communities as part of the Chi-
cano movement, the social and
cultural movement for Mexi-
can-American empowerment.
As Latinos began celebrating
the holiday proudly and pub-
licly in the U.S., they also be-
gan distinguishing it from Hal-
loween. That’s because many
non-Latinos mistakenly inter-
preted Day of the Dead’s skull
and skeleton imagery as witch-
craft. Latinos used the phrase
“Día de los Muertos is not Mex-
ican Halloween” to protect the
holiday from misrepresenta-
tion, educate the broader pub-
lic about the cultural tradition
and shield themselves from dis-
crimination.
The declaration was also used
in the 1970s and 1980s by Mex-
ico’s tourism industry when it
began vigorously promoting Day
of the Dead internationally as a
cultural attraction. Tourists ar-
riving in Mexico were informed
that Día de los Muertos was an
authentic national holiday that
bore no relation to Halloween.
The 1990s and 2000s
In the 1990s, “Día de los
Muertos is not Mexican Hal-
loween” became a political
statement. The North Amer-
ican Free Trade Agreement,
signed in 1994, flooded Mexico
with U.S. consumer goods, me-
dia and popular culture. Hal-
loween’s importation was seen
by some Mexicans as a symbol
of U.S. “cultural imperialism”,
the process by which the United
States uses culture to maintain
political and economic domina-
tion over Mexico.
But by the early 2000s, Mexi-
can, U.S. and British anthropol-
ogists reported that Halloween
was already fusing with Día de
los Muertos in fascinating ways.
Halloween candy, costumes and
ornaments appeared in stores
and street markets, where it
was displayed next to Day of the
Dead material. Jack-o-lantern
and spider-web decorations
adorned ofrendas, the traditional
altars erected for the dead. The
streets were increasingly filled
with trick-or-treating children
dressed as witches, vampires and
monsters. Bars and nightclubs in
southern Mexico hosted Hallow-
een and Day of the Dead costume
parties for adults.
Some Mexicans denounced
Halloween as “an invasion.”
Some referred to Halloween as
“cultural pollution.”
Such fears led the United Na-
tions in 2003 to officially desig-
nate Día de los Muertos a form
of “intangible cultural heritage”,
a classification reserved for cul-
tural traditions like rituals, oral
traditions and performing arts
that are endangered by globaliza-
tion or lack of support. This gave
the United Nations authority to
work with the Mexican govern-
ment to “protect and conserve”
Day of the Dead, which would
presumably safeguard the holi-
www.canadianinquirer.net
Lifestyle
day from influences like Hallow-
een. But it was too late.
Hollywood’s influence
Today, Halloween haunts
Día de Los Muertos in Mexi-
co like never before. Children
trick or treat in costume for
a full week during Day of the
Dead season. They beg for can-
dy from shops and restaurants
by crying “Queremos Hallow-
een!” – literally meaning, “We
want Halloween!” On Nov. 2 at
the country’s largest cemetery,
Panteón de Dolores, you’ll find
graveyard ofrendas decorated
with cobwebs, vampires, witch-
es and pumpkins.
The fusion of Halloween and
Day of the Dead is largely facil-
itated by Hollywood. A prime
example is the celebration at
the famous Panteón de San Fer-
nando, a cemetery where the
remains of some of Mexico’s
most important presidents and
dignitaries are buried. As part
of holiday festivities, the cem-
etery hosts a screening of the
horror classic “Night of the Liv-
ing Dead.” Hundreds dressed
in Day of the Dead attire gather
at the tomb of President Beni-
to Juárez, eating candy while
watching zombies terrorize a
small American community.
The impact of Halloween’s
horror movie influence is most
noticeable at the country’s larg-
est Día de los Muertos celebra-
tion. The Gran Desfile de Día
de Muertos, or the Great Day
of the Dead parade, which be-
gan in 2016 as a simulation of
the one depicted in the James
Bond movie “Spectre,” annual-
ly attracts more than a million
attendees.
In addition to sugar skull
makeup and skeleton attire, par-
ticipants also don Hollywood
horror costumes typically re-
served for Halloween. You’ll find
people dressed as Jigsaw from
the “Saw” movies, Chucky from
“Child’s Play,” Ghostface from
the “Scream” series and Penny-
wise from Stephen King’s “It.”
By far the most popular cos-
tume in 2022 was Michael My-
ers from “Halloween.” This is
hardly surprising. The fran-
21
chise’s most recent install-
ment, “Halloween Ends,” was
huge in Mexico. When the film
was released in Mexico during
Day of the Dead and Hallow-
een season, it was one of the
highest-grossing movies in the
country. In fact, of the 70 coun-
ties where the film was released,
Mexico had the third-highest
ticket sales.
Characters from Disney at
celebrations
In particular, Disney’s influ-
ence on both Halloween and
Día de los Muertos is immense.
The number of children and
adults costumed as Darth Vad-
er, Spiderman or Jasmine and
Aladdin at Day of the Dead cele-
brations is bewildering.
And they’re not just at the fes-
tive events like the Gran Desfile
de Muertos, either. They’re at
the ritual ceremonies, too. One
can find all manner of Avenger
superheroes at the Panteón de
Dolores gathered graveside and
making offerings to the dead.
Then there’s the dilemma
posed by Disney-Pixar’s “Coco,”
the beloved animated film
about Día de los Muertos. Sim-
ilar to every Disney entity, com-
panies license and manufacture
Halloween costumes based on
characters from the movie.
These costumes are now
popular in Mexico, where peo-
ple dress up as characters from
“Coco.” But when they masquer-
ade as the skull-faced Miguel,
Ernesto de la Cruz or Mama
Imelda, it’s hard to say wheth-
er they’re wearing a Halloween
costume or a Día de los Muertos
costume. I’d venture to say that
it’s both simultaneously.
And therein lies the crisis of
identity currently facing Mexi-
co’s Day of the Dead. The influ-
ence of Hollywood is making it
more and more difficult to cred-
ibly say “Día de los Muertos is
not a Mexican Halloween.”
What’s next for Day of the
Dead
The fusion between the two
holidays is happening in rural
and urban areas, and in the bor-
❱❱ PAGE 24 Day of the Dead
 22
What makes a film score frightening?
Expert explains the techniques that
build tension and make us jump
BY DAVID IRELAND,
University of Leeds
The Conversation
Think of the scariest film
you’ve ever seen. Beyond any
blood-curdling screams or
pounding heartbeats, there’s sure
to be another sound that sticks in
your memory – the score.
Perhaps that’s the shrieking
strings of Psycho (1960), or the
pulsing piano melody and omi-
nous bass of the Halloween fran-
chise (1971-2022). Maybe it’s the
eclectic score for Suspiria (1997)
– which combined instruments
including synthesizers, Greek
bouzouki, Indian tabla and whis-
pering voices. Or does The Shin-
ing’s (1980) unsettling quotations
of music by avant-garde compos-
ers like Ligeti and Penderecki still
haunt your nightmares?
Horror films incorporate
varied musical influences. But
there are some devices that they
share with successful scary or
tension-inducing scores in oth-
er genres, including thrillers and
contemporary action films. These
devices help the creation of an
ambiguous musical atmosphere.
This feeling of uncertainty
is frequently achieved through
a lack of conventional melody
and dissonant (clashing) har-
monies that do not readily re-
solve. Repeated short melodies
instead convey tension, as do
tremolo techniques (sounds
that are literally trembling or
quivering), involving rapid reit-
eration of a pitch or alternation
B.C. ban on..
❰❰ 9 Arrests and other
police interactions,
such as drug seizures,
have been found to negatively
impact safer use and harm-re-
duction practices. Fear of police
interaction has been found to
compel rushed injection, which
increases overdose risk and the
probability that users will buy
from a less reliable source.
More than 10,000 people
Lifestyle
between two pitches.
These features shape audi-
ence expectations through rep-
etition, creating unease when
anticipated development fails
to emerge. The entry of addi-
tional instruments, increasing
volume or regularity of the rep-
etitions, or sequential rising of
pitch with each iteration, can
all escalate the tension – partly
by not promoting substantial
melodic evolution.
The science of a scary score
Composer Bernard Herr-
mann’s music for Psycho’s show-
er sequence is a quintessential
example. It shuns melody for
repeated high-register violin
pitches and builds by gradually
adding strings to expand the dis-
sonant underlying chord.
Similar techniques are also
commonplace in more recent
thriller scores by composers like
Hans Zimmer. Take Inception
(2010), for example, with its re-
curring guitar motif and build-
ing, dissonant, string stabs.
Researching scary scores
Drones (sustained notes or
repeated figures) also effec-
tively help shape tense atmo-
spheres. These often appear in
the bass, sometimes alongside
low frequency rumbling. This
can be heard in the recent Op-
penheimer film (2023), during
scenes surrounding the Trin-
ity Test. These drones convey
space and ambiguity, given the
void between them and any
high melodic fragments.
Music researcher K.J. Don-
nelly sees a connection between
have died due to the poisoned
drug supply in B.C. since 2017,
when the NDP took power. We
simply cannot bear one more
preventable loss of life.
Bill 34 is the wrong policy
The Union of B.C. Indian
Chiefs and the B.C. division
of the Canada Mental Health
Association have demanded a
different direction. B.C. Green
Party leader Sonia Furstenau
these pitch extremities in hor-
ror film soundtracks and bodily
sounds. The high string lines
in soundtracks to film such as
Psycho acoustically imitate the
“roughness” or harsh quali-
ties of screams. Whispered or
shouting voices often feature in
horror scores, as do sounds em-
ulating the human heartbeat.
Yet, while these sounds em-
phasise the physical and vulner-
able, the frequent use of elec-
tronic instruments and blurring
of music and sound design also
creates ambiguity which evokes
technology and the inhuman.
This can be heard in Oppen-
heimer’s use of ticking sounds
has said her party will not sup-
port the legislation. The B.C.
Association of Social Workers,
as well as Care Not Cops and
Crackdown have also demand-
ed Premier Eby withdraw Bill
34 immediately.
Adequate and appropriate
housing and the scaling up of
harm-reduction services, in-
cluding supervised consump-
tion rooms (injection and
www.canadianinquirer.net
from the Geiger counter, a de-
vice used to detect radiation.
Contrasting these ambiguous
sonic atmospheres, sudden loud
bursts of sound or music (sting-
ers) that work like jump scares
also often feature. Donnelly
describes these sounds as “pri-
mal”, mirroring psychological
work that lists brainstem reflex
(instinctive responses to sudden
sonic events), as one musical
means of inducing emotion.
Strong musical bursts
alongside, and prior to, visu-
al shocks in horror films have
been shown to increase stress
responses in viewers. Sudden
silence can work similarly, as
inhalation), are identified as
critical interventions to miti-
gating public use.
Decriminalization in B.C.
should not be abandoned. If done
right, decriminalization would
be geared toward the elimina-
tion of police involvement in
drug possession, the cessation of
carceral-related harm to drug us-
ers, and ensuring people are not
compelled to use alone.
NOVEMBER 3, 2023 FRIDAY
in Oppenheimer during the
test-detonation of a nuclear
bomb. Likewise, the piercing
violin entry in Psycho’s shower
scene is heightened by the pre-
ceding lack of music.
Using musical features in un-
familiar settings also subverts ex-
pectations – and in horror films
juxtaposes the innocent and fa-
miliar against dark content.
References to religion and
childhood are invoked through
instruments like the organ and
music box, and allusions to hymns
and lullabies. Similarly, incongru-
ent lively or nostalgic preexisting
music can be used to engage or
distance audiences. One example
is when Olivia Newton-John’s
Over the Rainbow accompanies
a gunfight in the action-thriller
Face/Off (1997).
Such musical techniques im-
pact us physically and psycho-
logically. Film music scholars
have noted this for many years,
but in recent decades psychol-
ogy researchers have started to
empirically explore how.
While these devices may not
feature in every tension-induc-
ing scene, chances are at least
some have contributed to any in-
creased heart rate, goosebumps,
or startle responses you have
experienced. Such reactions are
one key reason why we keep re-
turning to scary films and clear-
ly demonstrate the emotional
impact of film music. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
Ultimately, an accessible,
regulated safer supply is key to
reducing the substantial major-
ity of overdose deaths.
Bill 34 will not help resolve
any part of the current crisis. In
fact, it will make it worse. ■
This article first appeared
on Policy Options and is repub-
lished here under a Creative
Commons license.
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2023
Lionel Messi wins 2023 Men's Ballon d'Or
Anadolu
Philippine News Agency
ANKARA – Inter Miami's Ar-
gentine superstar Lionel Mes-
si was announced the winner
of the 2023 Men's Ballon d'Or
award at a ceremony in Paris
on Monday, marking a record
eighth win.
Barcelona's Spanish midfield-
er Aitana Bonmati won the 2023
Women's Ballon d'Or award.
Aston Villa's Argentine goal-
keeper Emiliano Martinez won
the 2023 Yashin Trophy, which
was given to the best perform-
ing goalkeeper.
Both Messi and Martinez
helped Argentina secure the
2022 FIFA World Cup title.
Manchester City's Norwe-
gian star Erling Haaland scored
56 goals and won the 2023 Gerd
Muller Trophy, which is pre-
sented to the highest-scoring
footballer in the previous sea-
PH bag 5 more chess golds for best
9th spot in Asian Para Games
Philippine News Agency
HANGZHOU –The Philip-
pine para chessers struck a gold
mine Saturday, capturing five
out of a possible six in the rapid
event to cap the country’s cam-
paign on a victorious note for
an all-time high of ninth in the
overall medal standings on the
last day of the 4th Hangzhou
Asian Para Games here.
Abetted by breaks plus the
PH chessers’ grit and unity, they
swept the men’s PI (Physically
Impaired) and B2-B3 divisions
while annexing the PI women’s
mint courtesy of Atty. Cheyzer
Crystal Mendoza and the team
silver in the same event.
Typifying the resiliency of the
squad was Asian Para Games
Sports
son, taking into account goals
scored for both clubs and na-
tional teams.
Real Madrid's young English
star Jude Bellingham won the
2023 Copa Trophy, which is giv-
en to the best performing player
worldwide under the age of 21.
Real Madrid's Brazilian at-
tacker Vinicius Jr. was given the
2023 Socrates Award, which is
an annual football award to ac-
knowledge humanitarian work
by footballers around the globe.
Treble winners Manchester
City were awarded the 2023 Men's
Club of the Year award, which
marked a back-to-back win.
Barcelona Femeni won the
2023 Women's Club of the Year
award, which was given for the
first time this year.
Real Madrid's Croatian vet-
eran midfielder Luka Modric
placed 10th while Manchester
City's Portuguese midfielder
Bernardo Silva placed ninth
and Napoli's Nigerian for-
rookie Darry Bernardo, who was
one piece down playing with the
white pieces but still managed
to pull off an improbable win
against Indonesia’s Adji Har-
tono in ruling the B1-B2 men’s
event with six points.
Counting the rapid team gold,
Bernardo and Menandro Redor
emerged as the PH squad’s most
bemedalled athletes with three
mints each in the outing sup-
ported by the Philippine Sports
Commission.
Thanks to their heroic ef-
forts, the 72-member Philip-
pines contingent here matched
the tally of 10 golds in the 2018
Jakarta Asian Games while ris-
ing to its best-ever performance
in the continental showcase
to ninth overall, three notches
higher than the country’s show-
ward Victor Osimhen ranked
eighth. Manchester City's Ar-
gentine forward Julian Alvarez
ranked seventh while Vinicius
Jr. placed sixth and Manches-
ter City's Spanish midfielder
Rodri placed fifth. Manchester
City's Belgian midfielder Kev-
in De Bruyne ranked fourth,
Paris Saint-Germain's French
attacker Kylian Mbappe is in
third spot and Haaland placed
second in the 2023 Men's Bal-
lon d'Or ranking.
Aston Villa's English for-
ward Rachel Daly ranked 10th
while Real Madrid's Colombian
forward Linda Caicedo placed
ninth. Barcelona's Spanish
midfielder Patricia Guijarro
placed eighth and Wolfsburg's
German forward Alexandra
Popp ranked seventh, while
Real Madrid's Spanish full back
Olga Carmona is in sixth spot.
Manchester United's English
goalie Mary Earps ranked fifth,
Barcelona's Swedish forward
ing five years ago.
This was attained even
though the PH standard-bear-
ers had less silvers and bronz-
es – four and five, respectively,
compared to the eight and elev-
en in the previous Games.
Veteran Henry Roger Lo-
www.canadianinquirer.net
Fridolina Rolfo placed fourth
and Spanish winger Salma
Paralluelo ranked third. Chel-
sea's Australian forward Sam
Kerr placed second in the 2023
Women's Ballon d'Or ranking.
Former Ivory Coast star play-
er Didier Drogba was among
the hosts of the 67th edition of
the event.
The 1966 Ballon d'Or win-
ner, England’s Sir Bobby Charl-
pez, who led the field with five
points entering the seventh and
final round, won a hard-fought
match over teammate Jasper
Rom to become a double gold
medalist together with Men-
doza in anchoring the men’s PI
squad to a sweep of the team
23
ton, 2014 honorary Ballon d'Or
winner Pele of Brazil and 1960
Ballon d'Or winner Luis Suarez
Miramontes of Spain, who all
died in 2023, were commemo-
rated at the event.
Also known as the Golden Ball
Award, the Ballon d'Or, which
has been presented annually by
French magazine France Foot-
ball since 1956, is given to the
sport’s best player. ■
and individual events.
The 42-year-old Davao City
native’s golden triumph was aid-
ed by the draw between Iran’s
Aski Kazemian, who was tied
with Lopez with five points and
a round left, and veteran Tirto of
Indonesia in the last round.
“Lopez would have lost on
a tiebreak if Kazemian won,
but somehow Tirto managed
to draw the Iranian, paving the
way for our player to win the
gold,” national para chess head
coach James Infiesto explained.
“Masayang-masaya. Wala
akong masabi (We’re very happy.
I’m speechless). This is my best
performance since in the Asian
Para Games. All of our hard
work and sacrifice paid off. This
❱❱ PAGE 29 PH bag 5
 24
A red card could ruin the Rugby World
Cup final – the game needs fairer, safer
rulings on the field
BY CLIVE THOMPSON,
University of Cape Town
The Conversation
In the 46th minute of the
2023 Rugby World Cup (RWC)
pool match between contend-
ers France and pretenders
Namibia, with the rampaging
Europeans ahead by a thump-
ing 54 points to nil, the wilting
Welwitschias forfeited a player
to a yellow card.
Within eight minutes, the
card had bled to red. The mis-
match worsened. Close to the
final whistle, with France now
up 96-0, the Namibian desert
turned yellower still. Now 15
cats chased 13 mice for the dy-
ing embers of a farce.
What’s the point?
As a legal specialist in conflict
resolution and mediation, I argue
there has to be a better way. Rug-
by rules are rightly known as the
“laws” of the game, and they are
essentially designed to resolve the
conflicts inherent in a physical
contest over an oval ball. There
is substantial crossover with sys-
tems for conflict resolution in
other areas of life and work.
Wayne Barnes, who will ref-
eree the RWC final between
New Zealand and South Africa
this weekend, is also a barris-
ter by trade. As such, he will
know where the onus should lie
when critical decisions need to
be taken in a trial between two
elite teams.
Unfair and unsafe
To be a riveting spectacle, the
power sport of rugby must be as
safe and fair as possible for each
of a match’s 80 minutes. That
means 15 playing 15 at all times.
Day of the Dead..
❰❰ 21 derlands and deeper
parts of Mexico. It’s
altering Day of the
Dead’s popular festive qualities
and its ceremonial customs.
Cultural conservatives will
no doubt bemoan this as “pollu-
tion” of a sacred tradition. But
they forget that transformation
Sports
The spectacle is lost whenever
there is a mismatch in numbers.
In a collision contest, 14
against 15 hurts the game; 13
against 15 is unwatchable – and
dangerous.
As one would expect, it is
generally the weaker of the two
teams, already struggling to
put up a defence, that concedes
penalties and haemorrhages
players. A valiant team can hold
out against greater numbers,
but only exceptionally.
Commonly, the game dynam-
ics are blighted and the depleted
team has points racked up against
them. Game over, fun over.
It is also unsafe. Rugby is an
impact sport, with bodies being
put on the line. It promotes phys-
ical resilience in the face of what
are essentially authorised as-
saults. Players competing at the
top level are playing at their limit.
To oblige them to overextend
is to invite bodily collapse. That
is not a good idea. Heart failure
ranks with brain trauma as a risk.
Bad rules mean bad results
Some sendoffs are indisput-
able, such as for the dangerous
tackle on French captain An-
toine Dupont during the Na-
mibia game. It meant a barely
recovered Dupont faced off
against South Africa in the
quarterfinal, a factor that may
have accounted for France’s
knife-edge loss in that game.
But many yellow cards are
hotly disputed. Knowledgeable
rugby commentators, coach-
es, players and former referees
often assert – with evidence
– that a call at the breakdown
could just as well have gone the
other way.
Some yellow card offences
and adaptation are what ensure
any tradition’s survival. Día de
los Muertos may live eternally,
but it’ll be thanks to the vam-
pire bite of Halloween. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
are risible. If they are specified
in the rules, the rules need re-
visiting. Attempted intercepts
of passes are a case in point:
if they result in a knock-on, it
warrants a scrum, not a sending
off. The attacking team must
learn to pass better.
Dubious referee calls result-
ing in sendoffs and mismatch-
es – even when made in good
faith – can and do ruin matches.
Sometimes there is redemption
as the game rolls on. Mostly
there is not.
Essentially, good refereeing
is about good dispute resolu-
tion. Yes, rules are central to
the integrity of the game. When
calls are marginal and the im-
pacts disproportionate, howev-
er, the rules need to change.
Balance in competition
needs to be maintained. Justice
in sport for the players and fans
demands that no one be robbed
in the result.
Rugby can learn from oth-
er codes
The Australian Football
League (AFL) – “Aussie Rules”
– does it better: 18 play 18 at
all times, across four quarters.
Players are cited for fouls. Ter-
ritory is awarded in real time to
those offended against.
Each week of the playing sea-
son the AFL tribunal assesses
the citations and dishes out
penalties where warranted –
typically suspensions – based
on thorough, defended inspec-
tion.
Umpires are spared the curse
of making poor calls that could
unduly affect game outcomes.
Fans are not given more cause
to be apoplectic.
Rugby union would be im-
‘Replacing Chef Chico’:..
❰❰ 19 shared that her inspi-
ration for Replacing
Chef Chico came from
her love for food-related shows.
Recommending the series for
holiday viewing, she added: “I
think it’s perfect for the Christ-
mas season because, at its core,
it’s about love, friendship, and
www.canadianinquirer.net
proved if sendings off were re-
served for genuinely bad actors.
Yellow and even red cards may
may well be warranted – called
in real time by the referee, as-
sistant referees and the televi-
sion match official (TMO).
But to preserve safety and the
spectacle, those exiled should im-
mediately be replaced from the
reserves bench. Always 15 on 15.
If the yellow card offence oc-
curs in the attacking red zone, a
penalty try should be awarded,
with the conversion kick to be
taken from the touchline. If the
offence occurs elsewhere, rugby
could borrow from AFL, with a
penalty given 50 metres closer
to the offending team’s goal line
(up to the five-metre line).
Where a red card offence is
adjudged, the player should
be ejected and have to face a
post-match tribunal. A replace-
ment is, of course, needed on
the field. No matter where on
the field the crime occurred, a
acceptance. Each episode tells a
story of family, friendship, and
love, all celebrated over food.”
Both Jadone and Villegas
(Exes Baggage and Always Be
My Maybe) also expressed their
excitement over the evolving
media landscape and what it
means for the future of stream-
NOVEMBER 3, 2023 FRIDAY
penalty try should be awarded
between the posts.
Hopes for a fair final
Until there is reform, howev-
er, the onus of proof is always
on the prosecution – in this
case the match officials – just as
it is in a courtroom.
This will be especially im-
portant at the Stade de France
in Paris this weekend when
the All Blacks and South Africa
both go for a record fourth Rug-
by World Cup title.
In the event of an “incident”
– and there will be several – we
must hope the benefit of the
doubt applies, and 15 continue to
play 15. Only if the case is beyond
doubt on the visible evidence
should there be an unlevel play-
ing field for ten or more minutes.
Let the show go on, intact.
For rugby heaven’s sake. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
ing and media consumption in
the Philippines. Replacing Chef
Chico was produced for Netflix
in association with CS Studios
and Project8.
Catch 'Replacing Chef Chico' on
November 24, only on Netflix. ■
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2023
PH exports Biz group joins call for
increasing but truce in Gaza
external
headwinds slow
down growth
BY KRIS CRISMUNDO
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The country’s ex-
port revenues are slowly recov-
ering this year due to external
factors beyond the control of
the local stakeholders, Philip-
pine Exporters Confederation
(Philexport) president Sergio
Ortiz-Luis Jr. said.
In a chance interview at the
Philippine Business Conference
at the Manila Hotel on Oct. 26,
Ortiz-Luis said the recovery of
exporters is “slowly but sure-
ly”, hoping that it would hit the
export target under the Marcos
administration’s Philippine Ex-
port Development Plan (PEDP).
“I think we have a fighting
chance (to hit the 2023 exports
target)... It (export revenues) is
increasing now,” he told trade
reporters.
Data from the Bangko Sentral
ng Pilipinas showed that Phil-
ippine exports of goods and ser-
vices from January to June this
year increased by 5.4 percent to
USD48.42 billion from USD45.95
billion in the same period in 2022.
The government targets goods
and services export revenues of
Business
USD126.8 billion in 2023.
However, current geopoliti-
cal tensions are hindering the
fast recovery of the industry,
Ortiz-Luis noted.
“Hopefully, the problem in
Israel will not escalate because
the Ukraine problem is still
persisting until now,” he said.
The Philexport executive
also said the region should also
be monitoring the tensions in
the South China Sea in order
not to add to the ongoing con-
flicts across the globe that can
affect international trade.
He also mentioned that the
volatile global oil prices and the
higher inflation target in the
country, which reached around 4
to 5 percent from a range of 2 to
3 percent, are also affecting the
growth of Philippine exports.
Ortiz-Luis also urged law-
makers to allocate resources for
the Export Development Coun-
cil (EDC) and the Center for In-
ternational Trade Expositions
and Missions (CITEM), which
are all under the Department of
Trade and Industry (DTI), that
are responsible for policymak-
ing for the export sector and
promoting Philippine goods and
services for exports overseas. ■
BY MIGUEL GIL
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The Internation-
al Chamber of Commerce-Phil-
ippines chapter echoed Sunday
its Paris head office’s call for a
cessation of hostilities in the
Gaza strip amid the humani-
tarian crisis brought about by
three weeks of intense fighting.
In an interview on Sunday, Je-
sus Varela, director general of ICC
Philippines, said the multination-
al business organization is firmly
behind the United Nations (UN)
General Assembly resolution call-
ing for a “humanitarian ceasefire”
between Israel and Hamas.
“Of course, we support the
resolution (for a ceasefire).
Aside from the suffering it has
caused civilians there (Gaza
strip), prospects that the
war will escalate and spread
throughout the region is mak-
ing world markets jittery. Look
at how international oil prices
Free trade deals help
reduce costs for PH
franchise industry
BY KRIS CRISMUNDO
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – Free trade agree-
ments (FTAs) have helped the
franchise industry grow across
the country and overseas, Philip-
pine Franchise Association (PFA)
president Christopher Lim said in
an interview on Friday.
On the sidelines of the Fran-
chise Asia Philippines 2023
(FAPHL) held in Pasay City, Lim
said trade facilitation and low-
er tariffs under such deals help
www.canadianinquirer.net
are going up,” Varela told the
Philippine News Agency.
The ICC, whose membership
spans over 100 countries and
whose mission is to help busi-
nesses trade internationally
with greater ease, currently has
an observer status at the UN.
On Friday, the 193-member
UN General Assembly adopted
the resolution by a vote of 120-
14 with 45 abstentions.
The non-binding resolution
calling for a “humanitarian
truce” between clashing Israeli
forces and Hamas militants in
Gaza marked the UN’s first offi-
cial response to the war.
Varela, at the same time,
agreed with Israeli ambassador
to Manila Illan Fluss' earlier
statement that the ongoing cri-
sis in the Middle East would only
have little effect on the fast-grow-
ing bilateral trade between the
Philippines and the Jewish state.
The Israeli diplomat on Fri-
day told reporters in Manila
that the movement of people
those in the franchising busi-
ness decrease the costs of im-
ported products and make local
brands competitive abroad.
“It (FTA) helps, because of
course, when you go franchis-
ing you send products from
the Philippines to internation-
al as well and, you know, when
brands want to come in here, of
course you buy products, so free
trade agreements helped with
that in order to lower the tariffs,
it lowers the cost. Because the
last thing you want is to bring
in an international brand, and
25
and goods into and out of his
country remains uninterrupted
by the ongoing crisis.
However, Varela explained
that protracted fighting in Gaza,
which threatens to draw other
countries into the conflict, will
eventually take its toll on the
broader economy.
“I think that it is time for so-
briety to return. Israel has al-
ready proven its military supe-
riority, and it has successfully
avenged its citizens who were
killed in the Hamas attack (on
Oct. 7). Peace is the best course
of action at this point. It will
ease the suffering of many… and
put the business sector’s minds
at ease,” he emphasized.
Despite the Gaza crisis, Va-
rela said he remains optimistic
that Israel’s role in the Phil-
ippine economy, especially its
information and communica-
tions technology (ICT) sector,
will continue to grow in the
❱❱ PAGE 28 Biz group joins
it becomes too expensive that
people, the local consumers
can't buy it,” he said.
He added that one of the larg-
est imported products of the
industry is in the agriculture
sector, and slashing duties on
these goods reduces the cost of
bringing these products in.
“Some of our biggest brands
you know, we do import
thing(s) from Australia, from
Brazil, from Latin America. So
these things help now whether
❱❱ PAGE 28 Free trade deals
26
United Auto Workers union hails strike-ending deals
with automakers that would raise top assembly-plant
hourly pay to more than $40 as ‘record contracts’
BY MARICK MASTERS,
Wayne State University
The Conversation
The United Auto Workers
union agreed on a tentative new
contract with General Motors on
Oct. 30, 2023, days after landing
similar deals with Ford Motor
Co. on Oct. 25 and Stellantis, the
global automaker that makes
Chrysler, Dodge and Ram vehicles
in North America, on Oct. 28. The
pending agreements have halted
the industry’s longest strike in 25
years. It began on Sept. 15, when
the UAW’s prior contracts with
all three automakers expired, and
lasted more than six weeks. After
gradually ramping up, the strike
eventually included about 46,000
workers – roughly one-third of the
union’s 146,000 members at the
three companies.
Ford released a statement in
which it said it was “pleased” to
have reached a deal and “focused
on restarting Kentucky Truck
Plant, Michigan Assembly Plant
and Chicago Assembly Plant.”
Stellantis, likewise, looks for-
ward to “resuming operations,”
as one of its executives said in a
statement. General Motors ini-
tially made no public statements.
The Conversation asked Marick
Masters, a Wayne State University
scholar of labor and business is-
sues, to explain what’s in these con-
tracts and their significance.
What are the terms of the
contract?
According to several media
reports and the union’s own an-
More US carriers likely to fly to the PH - envoy
BY MA. CRISTINA
ARAYATA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – More carriers
from the United States are keen
to fly to the Philippines, Ambas-
sador MaryKay Carlson said on
Monday.
Business
nouncements, Ford’s tentative
labor agreement includes a 25%
wage increase over the next 4½
years, as well as the restoration
of a cost-of-living allowance the
UAW lost in 2009.
In addition, the tentative
agreements also will convert
many temporary workers to
full-time status, higher pay for
temps, the right to go on strike
over plant closures and signifi-
cant increases in contributions
to retirement plans.
By the end of the period cov-
ered by the Ford, GM and Stel-
lantis contracts, the top worker
wage at assembly plants will be
more than US$40 an hour. All
three contracts will expire on
April 30, 2028.
The Stellantis deal, accord-
ing to UAW officials, is similar
to the one reached with Ford
in other ways – as, reportedly,
is the one that the UAW agreed
upon with GM.
The Stellantis agreement
also has provisions regarding
specific North American plants,
including the plant Stellantis
had idled earlier in 2023 in Bel-
videre, Illinois, the UAW said.
Stellantis has promised to add
5,000 new jobs at Belvidere and
other factories over the next
four years, in stark contrast to
its previous intention to cut
that many jobs during the same
period, UAW President Shawn
Fain said on Oct. 28.
The Ford contract, likewise,
calls for more than $8 billion in in-
vestments in factories and other
facilities, according to the UAW.
Carlson made the announce-
ment after welcoming United
Airlines' first non-stop flight
from San Francisco, California
to Manila.
The inaugural flight carrying
325 passengers touched down
at the Ninoy Aquino Interna-
tional Airport Terminal 3.
Starting Monday, United Air-
Why did workers feel the
strike was necessary, and did
they achieve their aims?
The workers knew that the
companies had enjoyed big
profits over the past several
years. GM, for example, earned
$10 billion in profits in 2021
and $14.5 billion in 2022.
After having made major
economic concessions to help
the companies survive the
Great Recession, stiff inter-
national competition and the
2009 bankruptcies of GM and
Chrysler – before the latter be-
came a division of Stellantis –
UAW members believed they
deserved what they’re calling
lines will have a daily service
between the two cities.
"Presidents (Joe) Biden and
(Ferdinand R.) Marcos (Jr.)
agreed in May to explore how
to expand air ties, highlighting
how this effort will strength-
en our economic and peo-
ple-to-people ties," she said.
Carlson added that the US
www.canadianinquirer.net
a “record contract” for having
contributed to “record profits.”
“The days of low-wage, un-
stable jobs at the Big Three are
coming to an end,” Fain said
on Oct. 28. “The days of the Big
Three walking away from the
American working class, de-
stroying our communities, are
coming to an end.”
To forge its militant strategy,
the union tore a page from the
playbook of labor leader Walter
Reuther, who led the UAW from
1946 until his death in 1970. Re-
uther believed that workers de-
served a fair share of corporate
abundance – just like share-
holders and customers.
engagement with Philippine
aviation authorities will help
open more opportunities to
American carriers seeking to
serve the country's market.
"I am confident that United's
flight is simply the first of many
more air links between our
countries," she said.
Aside from United Airlines,
NOVEMBER 3, 2023 FRIDAY
What happens next?
The UAW released the full
details of the Ford contract
to all of its members who are
Ford workers on Oct. 29, after
its leaders had signed off on it.
Rank-and-file members now
have to ratify the deal for it to
go into effect.
The same process will hap-
pen with Stellantis on Nov. 2.
The separate deal the UAW ne-
gotiated with GM will also re-
quire ratification.
In the meantime, the au-
toworkers who went on strike
will be returning to their jobs.
How will this affect the au-
tomakers’ bottom line?
Some analysts have estimated
that Ford’s contract, if ratified,
would add $1.5 billion to the com-
pany’s annual labor costs. Ford
itself estimated that this could
add up to $900 in labor costs to
each vehicle rolling off its assem-
bly lines. Ford has also estimated
that the strike cost it about $1.3
billion in pretax profits.
To put these numbers into
perspective, Ford generated
slightly more than $130 billion
in revenue in the first three
quarters of 2023, and almost $5
billion in profits.
Stellantis has not yet made
public what it believes the
strike has cost the company.
General Motors has said that
the strike is costing the compa-
ny more than $800 million. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
only flag carrier Philippine Air-
lines (PAL) has been flying di-
rectly to San Francisco.
United Airlines, on the oth-
er hand, has been offering
non-stop services to Palau and
Guam via Manila.
Its newest route to and from
San Francisco will utilize its
largest Boeing aircraft. ■
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2023
How to redesign social media
algorithms to bridge divides
BY LUKE THORBURN,
King's College London, AVIV
OVADYA, Harvard University
The Conversation
Social media platforms have
been implicated in conflicts of
all scales, from urban gun vio-
lence to the storming of the US
Capitol building on January 6
and civil war in South Sudan.
Scientifically, it is difficult to
tell how much social media can
be blamed for one-off incidents.
But in much the way that cli-
mate change increases the risk
of extreme weather, evidence
suggests that current algo-
rithms (which mostly optimise
for engagement) raise the po-
litical “temperature” by dispro-
portionately surfacing inflam-
matory content. This may make
people angrier, increasing the
risk that social differences es-
calate to violence.
But what if we redesigned
social media to bridge divides?
“Bridging-based ranking” is an
alternative kind of algorithm for
ranking content in social media
feeds that explicitly aims to build
mutual understanding and trust
across differing perspectives.
The core logic of bridg-
ing-based ranking has already
been used on Facebook and X
(formerly known as Twitter),
albeit not in the main feed. It
is also used in Polis, an online
platform for collecting public
input, used by several govern-
ments to inform policymaking
on polarised topics.
There are many open ques-
tions, but evidence from ex-
isting uses of bridging-based
ranking suggests that changes
to algorithms may reduce parti-
san animosity and improve the
quality and inclusiveness of on-
line interactions.
People are increasingly look-
ing for alternative algorithms.
Regulators in the EU and new
platforms such as Bluesky are
giving users choice regarding
Technology
which algorithm determines
what they see, and recent large-
scale experiments on Facebook
have tested different options.
If we care about social cohe-
sion, then during this period of
“shopping around” we need to
seriously consider alternatives
such as bridging.
How it works
Current engagement-based
algorithms make predictions
about which posts are most
likely to generate clicks, likes,
shares or views – and use these
predictions to rank the most
engaging content at the top of
your feed. This tends to amplify
the most polarising voices, be-
cause divisive perspectives are
very engaging.
Bridging-based ranking uses
a different set of signals to de-
termine which content gets
ranked highly. One approach is
to increase the rank of content
that receives positive feedback
from people who normally dis-
agree. This creates an incentive
for content producers to be
mindful of how their content
will land with “the other side”.
Among the internal Face-
book documents leaked by
whistleblower Frances Haugen
in 2021, there is evidence that
Facebook tested this approach
for ranking comments.
Comments with positive en-
gagement from diverse audi-
ences were found to be of higher
quality, and “much less likely”
to be reported for bullying, hate
or inciting violence. A similar
strategy is used in Communi-
ty Notes, a crowd-sourced fact
checking feature on X, to identi-
fy notes that are helpful to peo-
ple on both sides of politics.
This pattern of “diverse posi-
tive feedback” is the most widely
implemented approach to bridg-
ing. Others include lowering the
ranking of content that promotes
partisan violence, or using sur-
veys to shape algorithms so that
they increase the ranking of con-
tent according to how it makes
27
users feel in the long term, rather
than the short term.
Conflict is an important part
of society, and in many cases, a
key driver of political and social
change. The goal of bridging is
not to eliminate conflict or dis-
agreement, but to promote con-
structive forms of conflict.
This is known as conflict
transformation. Profession-
al mediators, facilitators and
“peacebuilders”, who work
with opposing groups, have a
detailed understanding of how
conflicts escalate. They also
know how to structure com-
munication between opposing
groups in ways that build mutu-
al understanding and trust.
Research on bridging-based
ranking can draw on this, tak-
ing insights from conflict man-
agement in the physical world
and translating them into digi- incorporating bridging improves Which divides should be
tal systems. the user experience. bridged? Are there unintended
For example, facilitating con- Bridging-based ranking consequences – for example,
tact between people from rival might also have benefits beyond amplifying mainstream views
groups in “opt in”, non-threat- engagement. By reducing tox- at the expense of minority
ening settings can reduce prej- icity and content that violates viewpoints? How can decisions
udice, and we can design social community guidelines, it would about the design of mass com-
platforms to create these condi- likely reduce the need for costly munication technologies be
tions online. content moderation. made democratically?
Why should big tech adopt Demonstrating a willingness Bridging is not a panacea.
this? to make their algorithms less There is only so much algorith-
Firms such as Meta have divisive would also build good- mic changes can do to address
built their fortune on the “at- will among regulators, reducing societal conflict, which is a re-
tention economy” and content the risk of reputational and le- sult of complex factors such as
which promotes short-term en- gal damage. For example, Face- inequality. But by recognising
gagement, and hence revenue. book has been heavily criticised that digital platforms are re-
We simply don’t yet know for allegedly facilitating incite- shaping society, we have an ob-
the extent to which the goals of ments to violence in Myanmar, ligation to guide that process in
bridging and engagement are in Sri Lanka, and Ethiopia. an ethical, humanistic direction
tension. If you talk to people who It has subsequently faced that brings out the best in us.
work at social media platforms, lawsuits from victims and com- It falls to both the tech com-
they will tell you that when munities, who have sought up panies that built these systems
well-intended changes to the al- to £150 billion in damages. and an engaged public to create
gorithm are tested, user engage- Questions and challenges technologies designed for social
ment sometimes drops initially, Important questions around cohesion. With care, wisdom
but then slowly rebounds over bridging-based ranking remain, and democratic oversight, we
time, ultimately ending up with and we set out many of these in can foster online communities
more engagement. a recent paper published with that reflect our better sides. But
The problem is, platforms the Knight First Amendment we have to make that choice. ■
normally get cold feet and can- Institute, which publishes
cel experiments before they can original scholarship and policy This article is republished
observe such long-term benefits. papers relating to the defence from The Conversation under a
Evidence we do have from leaked of freedoms of speech and the Creative Commons license.
Facebook papers suggests that press in the digital age.
www.canadianinquirer.net
 28
AIs could soon run businesses –
it’s an opportunity to ensure these
‘artificial persons’ follow the law
BY TOBY WALSH, UNSW
Sydney
The Conversation
Only “persons” can engage
with the legal system – for exam-
ple, by signing contracts or filing
lawsuits. There are two main
categories of persons: humans,
termed “natural persons,” and
creations of the law, termed “ar-
tificial persons.” These include
corporations, nonprofit orga-
nizations and limited liability
companies (LLCs).
Up to now, artificial persons
have served the purpose of
helping humans achieve cer-
tain goals. For example, people
can pool assets in a corporation
and limit their liability vis-à-
vis customers or other persons
who interact with the corpora-
tion. But a new type of artificial
person is poised to enter the
scene – artificial intelligence
systems, and they won’t neces-
sarily serve human interests.
As scholars who study AI
and law we believe that this
moment presents a significant
challenge to the legal system:
how to regulate AI within exist-
ing legal frameworks to reduce
undesirable behaviors, and how
to assign legal responsibility for
autonomous actions of AIs.
One solution is teaching AIs
to be law-abiding entities.
This is far from a philosoph-
ical question. The laws govern-
ing LLCs in several U.S. states
do not require that humans
oversee the operations of an
LLC. In fact, in some states it
is possible to have an LLC with
no human owner, or “member”
Biz group joins..
❰❰ 25 coming years.
Israel’s economic and
commercial mission
to the Philippines estimated that
bilateral trade in both goods and
services was higher than USD534
million in 2022, which it called “a
record high” in the two countries’
65-year trade relations.
Technology
– for example, in cases where
all of the partners have died.
Though legislators probably
weren’t thinking of AI when
they crafted the LLC laws, the
possibility for zero-member
LLCs opens the door to creating
LLCs operated by AIs.
Many functions inside small
and large companies have al-
ready been delegated to AI in
part, including financial oper-
ations, human resources and
network management, to name
just three. AIs can now perform
many tasks as well as humans
do. For example, AIs can read
medical X-rays and do other
medical tasks, and carry out
tasks that require legal reason-
ing. This process is likely to ac-
celerate due to innovation and
economic interests.
A different kind of person
Humans have occasionally
included nonhuman entities
like animals, lakes and rivers,
as well as corporations, as legal
subjects. Though in some cases
these entities can be held liable
for their actions, the law only
allows humans to fully partici-
pate in the legal system.
One major barrier to full ac-
cess to the legal system by non-
human entities has been the
role of language as a uniquely
human invention and a vital
element in the legal system.
Language enables humans to
understand norms and institu-
tions that constitute the legal
framework. But humans are no
longer the only entities using
human language.
The recent development of
AI’s ability to understand human
language unlocks its potential to
In June, Yael Ravia-Zadok,
head of the Economic Affairs
Division at the Israel Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, expressed
optimism that Manila-Tel Aviv
bilateral trade will hit USD1
billion by 2024, driven by in-
vestments in agriculture, water
management and tourism. ■
interact with the legal system. AI
has demonstrated proficiency in
various legal tasks, such as tax
law advice, lobbying, contract
drafting and legal reasoning.
An LLC established in a juris-
diction that allows it to operate
without human members could
trade in digital currencies set-
tled on blockchains, allowing the
AI running the LLC to operate
autonomously and in a decen-
tralized manner that makes it
challenging to regulate. Under
a legal principle known as the
internal affairs doctrine, even
if only one U.S. state allowed
AI-operated LLCs, that entity
could operate nationwide – and
possibly worldwide. This is be-
cause courts look to the law of
the state of incorporation for
rules governing the internal af-
fairs of a corporate entity.
We believe the best path for-
ward, therefore, is aligning AI
with existing laws, instead of
creating a separate set of rules
Free trade deals..
❰❰ 25 it was on a free trade
agreement,” Lim said.
The Philippines
has FTAs with ASEAN member
states; ASEAN with its FTA part-
ners, such as Australia, New Zea-
land, China, Japan, South Korea,
and India; Regional Compre-
hensive Economic Partnership;
www.canadianinquirer.net
for AI. Additional law can be
layered on top for artificial
agents, but AI should be subject
to at least all the laws a human
is subject to.
Building the law into AI
We suggest a research direction
of integrating law into AI agents
to help ensure adherence to le-
gal standards. Researchers could
train AI systems to learn methods
for internalizing the spirit of the
law. The training would use data
generated by legal processes and
tools of law, including methods
of lawmaking, statutory interpre-
tation, contract drafting, applica-
tions of legal standards and legal
reasoning.
In addition to embedding law
into AI agents, researchers can
develop AI compliance agents –
AIs designed to help an organi-
zation automatically follow the
law. These specialized AI sys-
tems would provide third-party
legal guardrails.
Researchers can develop
and bilateral FTAs with the Eu-
ropean Free Trade Association
(EFTA), Japan, and South Korea.
Meanwhile, the FAPHL 2023
hosts 1,000 local and global fran-
chise brands from 26 countries.
About 39 percent of the expo
participants are new exhibi-
tors with new concepts, such as
NOVEMBER 3, 2023 FRIDAY
better AI legal compliance
by fine-tuning large language
models with supervised learn-
ing on labeled legal task com-
pletions. Another approach is
reinforcement learning, which
uses feedback to tell an AI if it’s
doing a good or bad job – in this
case, attorneys interacting with
language models. And legal ex-
perts could design prompting
schemes – ways of interacting
with a language model – to elicit
better responses from language
models that are more consis-
tent with legal standards.
Law-abiding (artificial)
business owners
If an LLC were operated by an
AI, it would have to obey the law
like any other LLC, and courts
could order it to pay damag-
es, or stop doing something by
issuing an injunction. An AI
tasked with operating the LLC
and, among other things, main-
taining proper business insur-
ance would have an incentive to
understand applicable laws and
comply. Having minimum busi-
ness liability insurance policies
is a standard requirement that
most businesses impose on one
another to engage in commer-
cial relationships.
The incentives to establish
AI-operated LLCs are there.
Fortunately, we believe it is
possible and desirable to do the
work to embed the law – what
has until now been human law
– into AI, and AI-powered auto-
mated compliance guardrails. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
breastfeeding centers, agricul-
ture supplies, automated retail
and convenience stores, vape
stores, and kickboxing gyms.
The PFA projects industry
revenue to reach PHP30 billion
this year, in line with its 13 per-
cent to 15 percent average annual
growth for the next five years. ■
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2023 29

What is ‘fried rice syndrome’?
A microbiologist explains this type
of food poisoning – and how to avoid it
BY ENZO PALOMBO,
Swinburne University of
Technology
The Conversation
A condition dubbed “fried
rice syndrome” has caused
some panic online in recent
days, after the case of a 20-year-
old who died in 2008 was resur-
faced on TikTok.
“Fried rice syndrome” refers
to food poisoning from a bac-
terium called Bacillus cereus,
which becomes a risk when
cooked food is left at room tem-
perature for too long.
The 20-year-old college stu-
dent died after reportedly eat-
ing spaghetti that he cooked,
left out of the fridge, and then
reheated and ate five days later.
Although death is rare, B. ce-
reus can cause gastrointestinal
illness if food isn’t stored prop-
erly. Here’s what to know and
how to protect yourself.
What is ‘fried rice syndrome’?
Baccilus cereus is a common
bacterium found all over the
environment. It begins to cause
problems if it gets into certain
foods that are cooked and not
stored properly.
Starchy foods like rice and
pasta are often the culprits. But
it can also affect other foods,
like cooked vegetables and
meat dishes.
Food
Certain bacteria can produce
toxins. The longer food that
should be refrigerated is stored
at room temperature, the more
likely it is these toxins will grow.
B. cereus is problematic be-
cause it has a trick up its sleeve
that other bacteria don’t have.
It produces a type of cell called
a spore, which is very resistant
to heating. So while heating
leftovers to a high temperature
may kill other types of bacteria,
it might not have the same ef-
fect if the food is contaminated
with B. cereus.
These spores are essentially
dormant, but if given the right
temperature and conditions,
they can grow and become ac-
tive. From here, they begin to
produce the toxins that make
us unwell.
What are the symptoms?
The symptoms of infection
with B. cereus include diar-
rhoea and vomiting. In fact,
there are two types of B. cereus
infection: one is normally asso-
ciated with diarrhoea, and the
other with vomiting.
Illness tends to resolve in a
few days, but people who are
vulnerable, such as children
or those with underlying con-
ditions, may be more likely to
need medical attention.
Because the symptoms are
similar to those of other gastro-
intestinal illnesses, and because
people will often get gastro and
not seek medical attention, we
don’t have firm numbers for
how often B. cereus occurs. But
if there’s an outbreak of food poi-
soning (linked to an event, for ex-
ample) the cause may be investi-
gated and the data recorded.
We do know B. cereus is not
the most common cause of gas-
tro. Other bugs such as E. coli,
Salmonella and Campylobacter
are probably more common,
along with viral causes of gas-
tro, such as norovirus.
That said, it’s still worth do-
ing what you can to protect
against B. cereus.
How can people protect
themselves?
Leftovers should be hot when
they need to be hot, and cold
when they need to be cold. It’s
all about minimising the time
they spend in the danger zone
(at which toxins can grow). fridge, it takes time for the cold it starts to become a risk.
This danger zone is anything to penetrate the mass of the The common adage of food
above the temperature of your food, so smaller portions will safety applies here: if in doubt,
fridge, and below 60°C, which help with this. This will also mi- throw it out.
is the temperature to which you nimise the times you’re taking It’s also worth keeping in
should reheat your food. the food out of the fridge. mind the general principles
After cooking a meal, if you’re As a general guide, you can of food hygiene. Before pre-
going to keep some of it to eat follow the two hour/four hour paring food, wash your hands.
over the following days, refrig- rule. So if something has been Use clean utensils, and don’t
erate the leftovers promptly. out of the fridge for up to two cross-contaminate cooked food
There’s no need to wait for the hours, it’s safe to put it back. with raw food. ■
food to cool. If it’s been out for longer, con-
Also, if you can, break a large sume it then and then throw This article is republished
batch up into smaller portions. away the leftovers. If it’s been from The Conversation under a
When you put something in the out for longer than four hours, Creative Commons license.

PH bag 5..
❰❰ 23 was a team effort,” said
Lopez, who was teary-
eyed in paying tribute
to teammate Jasper Rom, whose
parents passed away during the
meet but stuck around.
“We had to protect Henry at
all costs and I was glad that I
was part of his well-earned tri-
umph,” Rom said with a smile
and satisfied look on his face.
“Medyo nakabawi na rin para
sa team kasi naka-silver kami sa
team event sa rapid (I was able to
recover for the team because we
only won silver in the rapid team
event),” said Mendoza, who be-
gan the event with a loss but re-
covered in the later round in cop-
ping the gold with 5.5 points after
beating Vietnam’s Thuy Tran Thi
Bich in her final game.
She and Indonesia’s Lilis
Herna Yula were tied at the end
of the seven-round series with
identical 5.5 point, but the Fili-
pina chesser won over the other
by the tie-breaking system.
“Absolutely impossible and
too good to be true, but it’s
www.canadianinquirer.net
here,” said Infiesto of the glow-
ing accomplishment of his play-
ers, who exceeded their haul
of five gold, two silver and six
bronzes in the 2018 Jakarta
Asian Para Games.
“It seems that 13 is our lucky
number,” noted the coach,
counting the three silver and
two bronze medals his prolific
squad likewise won.
“Absolutely amazing. This is
what you reap with hard work
and proper preparations,” said
Philippine Paralympic Com-
mittee president Mike Barredo,
who personally congratulated
all of the team members after
their matches were over. ■
30
Booking.com Presents Six Haunted
Experiences in the US
BOOKING.COM
Nothing beats staying at a place
that is rumored to be haunted
during Halloween. To get into the
Halloween spirit, and deliver a
truly thrilling experience beyond
just trick-or-treating and costume
parties, we present six spooktac-
ular stays in some of America’s
most haunted places.
With over a half (60%) of global
travelers saying that finding thrills
and adventure is a key motivation
to travel*, a vacation around Oc-
tober 31 can provide a jump and a
fright for travelers who are look-
ing for some level of paranormal
activity. From a former Civil War
hospital to a hotel haunted by a
friendly female spirit, there is a
stay to fit every fright level.
Boston Omni Parker House
Hotel, Boston, Massachusetts
Set on the Freedom Trail,
across the street from King's
Chapel and its graveyard, the
Boston Omni Parker House
Hotel is rumored to be haunt-
ed by the spirit of the hotel’s
founder, Harvey Parker. This
beautiful hotel has many ghost
stories to share including the
one where guests have seen the
elevators mysteriously called to
the third floor. Some guests also
reported weird noises of rock-
ing chairs going back and forth
on the 10th floor. The Omni
Parker House inside the Omni
Parker Hotel, is home to the
Charles Dickens mirror, which
many claim that it is haunted by
Dickens himself. The Victorian
British author was a temporary
resident from 1867 to 1868 and
although the suite he stayed in
doesn't exist anymore, his door
and mirror remain on display
at the Omni Parker House. For
the thrill seekers looking for
even more spookiness, Boston
offers a great variety of pop-
ular tourslike the self-guided
Haunted Walking Tour, which
gives guests the opportunity to
explore some of Boston’s creep-
Travel
iest locations and landmarks.
Hawthorne Hotel, Salem,
Massachusetts
Situated only a short drive
from Boston on the north coast
of Massachusetts, the city of Sa-
lem is famous for the witch trials
of 1692, a series of hearings and
prosecutions of people accused
of witchcraft. Salem can easily
be explored on foot and offers
a variety of walking tours that
delve into the real history and
hauntings of the city. Set just a
short walk from the Salem Witch
Museum and Salem Common,
the historic Hawthorne Hotel is a
great choice for those looking for
an extra spooky experience. Al-
though most guests sleep peace-
fully without noticing any para-
normal activity, there have been
some stories of haunting expe-
riences like moving furniture
and weird noises. Travelers who
want to capture their memories
from their trip to Salem should
not miss the Witch Cottage Pho-
to Shoot. During this experience
travelers can choose amongst
300 costumes and enjoy a witch-
themed photoshoot with the
help of an in-house stylist.
1886 Crescent Hotel and
Spa, Eureka Springs, Arkansas
Originally built in 1886, the
1886 Crescent Hotel and Spa is a
historic hotel in downtown Eu-
reka Springs. Thrill seekers can
join a variety of ghost tours at
the property where paranormal
activity experts will share some
bone-chilling tales. During one
of the hotel tours, guests can visit
the hotel’s basement, also called
“the morgue”. In the 1930s the
hotel was a cancer curing hospital
and in the basement guests will
see the doctor’s autopsy table and
bottles of medical specimens.
Mizpah Hotel, Tonopah,
Nevada
One of the first luxury hotels
in Nevada, Mizpah Hotel is said
to be Nevada’s most haunted
hotel. Originally opened in 1907
and named after Mizpah Mine, a
silver mine in Lander county, the
hotel has its own ghost story as it
is rumored to house the friend-
ly spirit of the Lady in Red. Ac-
cording to the legend, the Lady
in Red was a woman that died in
the hands of a jealous lover, and
now roams around the hotel.
While some guests were able to
interact with the paranormal,
other guests did not see or hear
her ghost.
The Marshall House, His-
toric Inns of Savannah Col-
lection, Savannah, Georgia
Located in the heart of Savan-
nah's Historic District and built
in 1851, this Georgia boutique ho-
tel is rumored to be Savannah's
most haunted hotel. The hotel
used to be a hospital during the
Civil War and has been featured
many times on TV shows as a
place where guests have seen or
heard ghosts in the hallways and
the foyer. As Savannah is consid-
ered to be one of America’s most
haunted cities, ghost enthusi-
asts should not miss the Creepy
Ghosts Tour, where they will ex-
plore the city’s haunted history
and secrets, strolling across the
city’s creepiest corners, includ-
ing enchanted mansions and
hair-raising cemeteries.
La Fonda on the Plaza,
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Nicknamed ‘The City Differ-
ent’ due to its unique and bohe-
mian character, Santa Fe is the
oldest state capital city in the
United States located in northern
New Mexico and one of Booking.
com’s trending destinations for
2023. Centrally located in Santa
Fe, hotel La Fonda on the Plaza is
a beautiful, historic property with
several ghostly guests reportedly
seen. These ghostly guests roam
freely around the property and
some travelers might encounter
the spirit of a bride or the ghost
of a judge. Sante Fe has a great
variety of activities to enjoy for
the 73% of travelers who are open
to ‘out of comfort zone’ experi-
ences while traveling in 2023**.
Guests can for example book a
zombie-themed Scavenger Hunt
www.canadianinquirer.net
Experience and explore some of
the city's most notable attractions
and landmarks, while attempting
to survive a zombie apocalypse. ■
*Research commissioned by
Booking.com and independent-
ly conducted among a sample
of 42,513 respondents across 33
markets (2,000 from USA, 1,008
from Canada, 2,000 from Mexico,
1,000 from Colombia, 2,000 from
Brazil, 1,000 from Argentina,
2,000 from Australia, 1,000 from
New Zealand, 2,000 from Spain,
2,000 from Italy, 2,000 from
France, 2,000 from UK, 2,000
from Germany, 1,000 from Neth-
erlands, 1,000 from Denmark,
1,000 from Sweden, 1,000 from
Croatia, 1,000 from Switzerland,
1,000 from Belgium, 1,000 from
Ireland, 1,000 from Portugal,
1,000 from Israel, 2,000 from
India, 1,000 from China, 1,005
from Hong Kong, 1,000 from
Thailand, 1,000 from Singapore,
1,000 from Taiwan, 1,000 from
Vietnam, 1,000 from South Ko-
rea, 1,000 from Japan, 500 from
UAE). In order to participate in
this survey, respondents had to
be 18 years of age or older, had to
have traveled at least once in the
past 12 months, and planning to
travel in 2023 and be either the
NOVEMBER 3, 2023 FRIDAY
primary decision maker or in-
volved in the decision making of
their travel. The survey was taken
online and took place in January
and February 2023.
**Travel Predictions 2023 re-
search commissioned by Booking.
com and conducted among a sam-
ple of adults who plan to travel
for business or leisure in the next
12-24 months. In total 24,179
respondents across 32 countries
and territories were polled (in-
cluding 1014 from Argentina,
1006 from Australia, 505 from
Austria, 504 from Belgium, 1009
from Brazil, 503 from Cana-
da, 1009 from China, 1010 from
Colombia, 505 from Croatia,
505 from Denmark, 1010 from
France, 1001 from Germany, 500
from Hong Kong, 1005 from In-
dia, 504 from Ireland, 504 from
Israel, 1008 from Italy, 1003
from Japan, 504 from Mexico,
502 from The Netherlands, 1007
from New Zealand, 1009 from
Portugal, 507 from Singapore,
1008 from South Korea, 1001
from Spain, 505 from Sweden,
508 from Switzerland, 500 from
Taiwan, 504 from Thailand,
1006 from the UK, 1009 from the
US and 504 from Vietnam). Re-
spondents completed an online
survey in August 2022.
 NOVEMBER 3, 2020
JULY 17, 2023 cx328
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