January 16 - 31, 2019
OPINION
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY
Reyfort Publishing & Entertainment
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Breaking
Point
By Rosette Correa
My mother always said that
I shouldn’t poke my nose into
something that doesn’t concern me.
She said that even a peek would
make me liable to whatever happens
in the situation, and may even be an
accessory to it. I wonder if Margaret
Trudeau gave her son, Justin, the
same advise. Probably not.
Canadian Robert Schellenberg,
who jailed for drug trafficking, has
been sentenced to death by a Chinese
court in a hasty retrial in retaliation
for the detention of Huawei executive
Meng Wanzhou on charges related
to the violation of sanctions on Iran.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says
that the sentence is “arbitrary”, leaving
Schellenberg hanging high and dry,
while Meng enjoys her multi-million
dollar homes in vancouver’s West end,
protected by the same government
that should be pretending its citizens.
Allies such as Australia and the
United States have issued statements
condemning the death sentence,
while the Liberals remain mum.
The story would have been
different if the Canada just stayed out
of it. Like my mother sad, we shouldn’t
have poked our noses into something
the US had a problem with. It wasn’t
our problem, and if we hadn’t acted
on their “request” to hold Meng, we
would just have a problem with them
Bulong
Pulungan
By Deedee Siytangco
Reprinted from Manila Bulletin
me,
ANGEL THOUGHTS
“Thanks to those who hated
You made me stronger.
Thanks to those who loved me,
You made my heart go fonder.
Thanks to those who cared,
You made me feel important.
Thanks to those who entered
my life,
You made me who I am today.
Thanks to those who left,
You showed me that nothing
lasts forever.
Thanks tho those who stayed,
You showed me true friendship.
Thanks to those who listened,
You made me feel like I was
worth it.” —Anonymous
So how was your New Year?
Did you spend it abroad with
your family as some of my friends
did, in Hong Kong, or Japan, Europe,
US, Taipei, or Spain, where my dear
Political Lessons from Huawei and
the Quiet Canadian
(which we already
do) and not with
China. Now, we are
walking on proverbial
eggs
with
both
countries. Trudeau
is already enjoying a
steady decline in his
popularity, why add
to it?
That’s
not
all. Michael Coren,
author and columnist
in his interview with
CBC’s Wendy Mesley,
said that there is a
great movement in
the Right that the
Trudeau government
has always opposed and ignored by
passing laws that do not consult the
entire population. The Christian Right
has seen how powerful the vote of
the silent majority is when Donald
Trump was elected in the United
States, and this seems to be a trend
now in the upcoming elections, with
Conservative Party Andrew Scheer,
and People’s Party Maxime Bernier
talking about three major issues that
concern the Right - abortion, LGBT
issues and free speech. Bernier voted
for Bill C-16, the gender-identity bill,
but later vowed to repeal it on the
grounds that it threatens freedom
of speech. The Right said they will
support the Conservatives in the
election, primarily because they are
the best alternative to the governing
Liberals, whom Charles McVety, a
social conservative and president of
Canada Christian College, described
as being “hostile.” The Liberal Party
continues to ignore the call of the
conservative Right, and according to
Coren, a lot of the conservative Right
are already a young generation, not
the gray-haired seniors who fill pews
in Church. Ottawa’s Doug Ford and
Alberta’s Jason Kenney have seen
this support, and many more people
are speaking up, with the website of
Coalition for Life being
very active in posting
the
anti-abortion
candidates on their
website. A lot of
people are beginning
to talk, and others are
listening, except for
the Liberal Party, of
course.
So, what does
this mean for Justin
Trudeau? Well, it’s an
uphill climb. When you
have slipped too far
down the slope, going
up will be challenging.
This controversy with
Huawei isn’t helping
either. Poland’s Internal Security
Agency has arrested and charged
a Huawei employee for espionage
in the country, and recent news
media reports reveal U.S. authorities
are pursuing a case against the
company.
New Zealand, Australia and the
United States have already announced
they will ban Huawei from doing
business in their mobile networks.
Canada’s hands are tied, thanks to
a contract our mobile networks drew
up with the Chinese mobile giant. And
with Meng in our territory, the rope will
get tighter.
A Champion For Education
classmate Ditas Lerma with all
her sons and their families had a
gorgeous time, bonding together
and visiting historical, cultural, and
religious sites.
Or did you go back to your
hometown?
Visit a local resort or stay in a
hotel for the traditional “countdown”
party and fireworks? Or did you gather
your family and celebrate at home?
I hope that however you spent
New Year’s Eve, you did not forget to
say, “Thank you, Lord for the year that
just passed and be with us in the year
to come!”
If you seriously think about it,
we are where we are because of God
who created everything!
It’s not yet too late. Be thankful
for everything and everyone!
* * *
Classical pianist Zenas Reyes
Lozada, who made Intramuros
musical events truly memorable with
Jaime Laya, then Central Bank and
Intramuros Administration chair, will
celebrate her birthday with a special
solo concert at St. Cecilia’s Hall in
St. Scholastica’s College, Manila this
coming Saturday.
The
celebrant
will
be
accompanied by her close musical
friends in this mini-musical, so say her
children Anthony, Angelo, and Suzie
Lozada. Bouquets, Zenas, and more
years of happiness and blessings!
* * *
It’s not too early to reflect on
those who are courting us to give them
our “Yes” to their bid to be among the
selected
12 names for the Senate. For
the sake of those who sincerely want
to know them better, I will randomly
write about my references in no
special order.
So here goes.
I was with Sen. Bam Aquino
when he met with an old and
cherished friend of the family. The
way the informal briefing went, I
was convinced he is the ideal public
servant with a genuine heart for the
WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM
underprivileged and the skills to get
things done.
Not one to rely on his family’s
legacy, Sen. Bam has proven time
and again that he has the will and
ability to enact revolutionary reforms
for the Filipino family, like the law for
free college education. No grandiose
promises from Bam who has been
untainted by any scandal or corruption
issues.
While the measure had been filed
repeatedly, congress after congress, it
only became a law when Sen. Bam
worked on it as principal sponsor,
heading hearings, incorporating
amendments from other senators,
and defending free college in the
Senate.
For 2019, Sen. Bam will monitor
closely all state universities that will
not be compliant to the law.
Similarly, the first anti-trust law
in the country was languishing in the
legislative mill for almost 30 years until
Sen. Bam became its
principal sponsor and CONT PAGE 9