April 1 - 15, 2019
OPINION
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY
Rey Fortaleza - Publisher
Carlito Pablo - Editorial Consultant
Rosette Correa - Senior Editor
Jun Cordero - Associate Editor
Writers - Crisanta Sampang ; Columnists - Geoff Meggs, Ben Berto, Editha Corrales,
Mon Datol, Fr. Jerry Orbos SVD, DeeDee Sytangco, Alan Samuel, Erie Maestro, Sandee M.
Ed Malay, Jayne Anastacio, JJAtencio and Willie J. Uy (Manila Bureau Chief)
Alvin Barrera / Mon Correa - Graphics and Layout ; Rolly Fortaleza - Graphics Design
JoelCastro - Website; Julian Fortaleza - Sports Editor;
Liason Officer: Christian Cunanan; Photograher -Apple Plata
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Breaking
Point
Texts, lies and audiotapes
By Rosette Correa
George Washington, first Presi-
dent of the USA, once said that, “It is
better to offer no excuse than a bad
one.” I don’t expect Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau to know American his-
tory, or even know who George Wash-
ington is, but what he needs to know
is the definition of lying.
Trudeau has faced criticism for
trying to make sure that no one can
talk about the SNC-Lavalin scandal.
He silenced two women from his
cabinet, former attorney general Jody
Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott,
making sure he appears to be the vic-
tim, and they the villains. His Liberal
MPs shut down two committees that
wanted to investigate the case. They
have blocked witnesses from appear-
ing. They had plenty of other stories,
none of which added up and most
were proven false.
No one needs to tell the truth if
the untruth is already up front.
Now, Trudeau is on the path of
retaliation and has served Conserva-
tive leader Andrew Scheer a threat to
sue him for libel, for lying about the
Liberals and the whole SNC-Lavalin
case. Asked whether he plans to fol-
low through with his threatened law-
suit, Trudeau said that with an
election on the horizon, he won’t put
up with politicians twisting the truth
and distorting reality. The suit, Scheer
says, is demanding him to take back
the claims that Trudeau interfered
with the prosecution of Montreal firm
SNC-Lavalin and lied to Canadians.
Now, why would Scheer do that,
when he is simply echoing what Wil-
son-Raybould and Philpott have al-
ready said? Trudeau’s non-appear-
ance at the Parliament to face Scheer
on Monday appear like he has some-
thing to hide, perhaps, something the
Liberals have been trying to sweep
under the rug.
The Liberals have altered their
story from claiming that what the at-
torney general said were false to saying
that they pressured Wilson-Raybould
to drop bribery charges against SNC-
Lavalin, but it was necessary to save
jobs in the Quebec company. Trudeau
says that while people disagree in
politics, there are consequences for
telling lies about one’s partisan ad-
versaries, but what about tolerating
lies coming from your own party?
I’m honestly worried for the Liberals,
because they are trying to save their
Reprinted from Manila Bulletin
ANGEL THOUGHTS
My seasons change, You stay the
same! You are the God of all my days.
John Hall and Jayson Ingram
Hello summer to a hot, hello wa-
ter shortage, short tempers, shortened
showers, dry lawns, and for many, wa-
ter rationing!
Let’s all pray for rain! Better wa-
ter management, and end to defores-
tation.
The hardest thing to let go, be-
lieve it or not, is my Christmas set-up
in our home in Tagaytay. Don’t snick-
er. It’s a serious decision with me.
My husband Sonny who would
have been 80 this March 20 had the
Lord not called him home, was a
Christmas person. He loved the sea-
son, what it meant, and all the loving
and happiness that went with it. So
we usually begin decorating Novem-
ber and take everything down to pack
them in the attic after his birthday on
March 20.
This meant the sparkling lights,
the poinsettias, the manger, the an-
gels, Santa Claus, and the gift giv-
ing. Most of all, it meant putting up
George, who had an axe in his hands,
and asked him if he knew anything
about the chopped down trees. Little
George replied, “I cannot tell a lie.
I chopped down the cherry trees.”
Trudeau needs to learn a lesson from
Little George. He knows the truth
about the SNC-Lavalin affair, yet he is
saying that another person was telling
untruths about his beloved party and
his person, as he holds the axe in his
hands.
So Long, Santa
Bulong
Pulungan
By Deedee Siytangco
jobs by holding on
to what their fear-
less leader is say-
ing, even though
it could be the un-
truth. Alfred Ten-
nyson said, “A lie
that is half-truth is
the darkest of all
lies.” Yes, it is the
darkest of times
right now for Can-
ada.
I think Ca-
nadians deserve
better. We de-
serve to know the
truth about the
SNC-Lavalin af-
fair, and whether the PM or his staff
stepped over the line and broke the
law by pressuring the attorney general
to drop charges in a bribery case. We
don’t need Trudeau to sue the Con-
servatives to prove a point.
Little George Washington is
known for a legend about the cherry
trees in their garden. One day, as the
story goes, his father found cherry
trees in the garden chopped down
to their roots. Papa Washington calls
the Christmas village of three
decades ago. We collect what-
ever figurines, mini churches,
lighthouses, merrymakers, skating
rinks, carousels, tiny houses that light
up, trees, and other stuff which to us
meant adding more tables to let our
“village” grow.
My kids have been wonderful get-
ting me knick knacks and stuff for my
tree which is now loaded with tinsel
stars, angels, balls collected over the
years. My village is and will always be
a labor of love, a tribute to our own
Mr. Christmas!
For the last five years, my nephew
lawyer Jovi Rivera came with his fami-
ly to put up the village set in the snow-
capped mountain. This was especially
when his uncle Sonny was gone and
he felt I needed comfort during the
season. This year, however, his busy
schedule couldn’t accommodate a
weekend in November to put up the
village and the task fell on my trusty
manang Nating and her husband,
Michael. I kibitzed a lot but the décor
and village, I owe to them.
To bid goodbye until Christ-
mas season rolls around, I asked my
Maryknoll high school and college
gang mates to come up and take a
last look, and they did. Thank you
Dian Cruz Regudo, Dr. Chona Abella
Relloza, Linda Los Banos Cajucom,
Aida Sevilla Mendoza, Sister Mariou
Noel, Beth Javier Africa, Alice Canlas
Avancena, and our balikbayan , Lilia
Calderon Clemente, renowned stock-
broker and investment consultant
from New York.
Just recently, Finance Secre-
tary Carlos Dominguez III stated that
the government has about R3 billion
worth of monthly income tax collect-
ibles from foreign nationals working
in Philippine offshore gaming opera-
tions (POGO).
To shed light to the role of the
Philippine Amusement and Gam-
ing Corporation (PAGCOR) in this
issue, being the government agency
that regulates gaming in the country
including the POGO licensees and
their accredited service providers, we
learned the following:
1. POGO operations is a big and
multi-faceted industry. For it to devel-
op, it entails employment and neces-
sitates other industries such as real
estate, service as in food and trans-
portation, construction, telecommu-
WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM
nication, to name a few. While gam-
ing operations fall within the ambit
of the gaming industry, thereby sub-
jecting the same to pertinent regula-
tory bodies such as PAGCOR, other
components of operations fall under
the jurisdiction of afore-cited sectors
making each component subjected
to the regulation of each concerned
government agencies.
2. Taxation of licensed operators
is undertaken by the Bureau of Inter-
nal Revenue. In support to their thrust,
they require applicants for offshore
gaming licenses submission of their
company registration with the Secu-
rities and Exchange Commission, in
view of the latter’s requirement for a
Tax Identification Number.
3. Foreign workers, meanwhile,
are regulated by both the Department
of Labor and Employment and the
Bureau of Immigration. For their part,
PAGCOR upholds lawful employment.
Employing undocumented foreign
workers by licensed operations and
their accredited service providers is
a violation warranting imposition of
demerits, fines, and other administra-
tive penalties, without
prejudice to suspen- CONT PAGE 9