Philippine Asian News Today Vol 18 No 18 | Page 18
A18
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY September 16 - 30, 2016
ALBERTA / SASKATCHEWAN News
Crystal meth (Shabu) use grows in Pinoy community in Banff
Because of the need
to extend working hours
in two or three jobs,
Filipinos in the Bow Valley
community
in
Banff,
Alberta, have turned to
crystal meth, popularly
known as shabu.
The Bow Valley
Immigration Partnership
said that a few of their
clients
had
reported
knowledge of crystal meth
being used, but because
of the different name it
was being peddled, they
did not hear of it sooner.
This created different
kinds of barriers to aid and
support the users to get
them off of the drug. The
Investigators in the Philippines examine chemicals and lab equipment used to make the drug
shabu. Here in Canada, it’s known as crystal meth and is becoming a problem in the Bow
Valley. (Pat Roque/AP)
organization has met with
Alberta Health Services
and the RCMP to discuss
the use of shabu within the
Filipino community and
the public that has been
given access to it.
According to RCMP
Staff Sgt. Eneas, as more
people in the community
try to work multiple jobs
and longer hours, they
use the drug to access a
greater level of stamina so
that they can work more.
A number of these workers
work from anywhere to
14-18 hours a day in two
or three jobs.
The
RCMP
investigation
has
led
them to believe that the
production, sale and use of
the drug is underground,
so there is not a lot of
information about it to the
Canadian authorities.
Heather Bates of
Community Connections,
a group that welcomes
immigrants and workers
to Bow Valley, say that the
use of shabu isn’t common
but it is important to get
ahead of the issue before
it becomes bigger.
Banff
Filipino
community
member
Ericson Dizon said he’s
surprised to hear that
shabu is in the Bow Valley.
Dizon moved to Canada
three and a half years ago,
works as a housekeeper at
a hotel, and says that it isn’t
necessary to have many
jobs to live comfortably.
He says that drugs destroy
people, and taking it
would not actually help the
person. Dizon says that he
has not heard of anyone
or knew of any Filipinos
using the drug.
iRemit CEO, Bansan Choa visits Canada
iRemit
CEO
and
President Bansan Choa
visited Canada and made
a trip to the different cities
where iRemit has branches
and serves hundreds of
Filipinos. He and his iRemit
team first visited the Great
Taste of Manila Festival in
Toronto, where he had the
opportunity to meet Prime
Minister Justine Trudeau,
and presented him the
iRemit OFW Card, which
contains a Commemorative
Coin to honour Filipino
overseas
workers
as
modern day heroes.
“O ur kababayans are
working in 232 countries
all over the world, and we
created the commemorative
coin for our OFW friends
to show our appreciation
for their hard work, “ Choa
explains.
He said that PM
Trudeau talked about the
Filipinos, our food and
values, and he even cooked
barbeque at the booth
beside Iremit while wearing
his barong Tagalog.
Choa and his team
also had the opportunity
to meet Ontario Premier
Kathleen Wynne during
the 2nd day of Taste of
Manila, before heading off
to Ottawa to meet with
Philippine Ambassador to
Canada Petronila Garcia,
as well as the Consular
Officials(Generals)
in
Ottawa. The iRemit team
then headed to Montreal to
meet with their agents and
partners.
Choa also visited
Winnipeg to seek more
business and agents who
will work with Iremit in
the booming Manitoba
city. They proceeded to
Edmonton, to their West
Edmonton Mall branch.
In Calgary, the team
met agents and presented
their products and services
at the Calgary Fiesta
Filipino 2016, a festival on
its second year. It was said
to have been attended by
about 35,000 people. The
team also met with the new
Consul General in Calgary
Julius Torres.
“The
Philippine
Consulates in Canada are
offering many services
to our kababayans that
they do not realize they
are entitled to, including
services from government
agencies,” Choa shares. He
says that our kababayans
have access to information
about their SSS, Pag-Ibig
and PhilHealth from the
Consulates.
The iRemit team also
offers services that pertain
to the three agencies
mentioned. Choa says
that iRemit is the largest,
non-bank Filipino owned
remittance
company
publicly listed in the
Philippine Stock Exchange,
and in operation since
2001. It is now operating
in 27 countries where there
are a lot of Filipinos. Some
of the major products
iRemit offers include bankto-bank transactions, doorto-door transactions, and
notify-and-pick-up money
remittance; and various
services that most other
companies do not offer
such as direct bill payments
to
Philippine
utility
companies, real estate
companies, supermarkets,
drug stores and others.
“The iRemit Visa Card
debit card can be used in
Canada and the Philippines.
You can withdraw in
Philippine peso in any of
the 17,000 bank ATMS
in the Philippines,” Choa
adds. He says it is the safest
way to bring money to the
Philippines since you can
deposit money here and
withdraw it while you are
there and even use it directly
for shopping in any Visaaffiliated
establishment,
giving you the convenience
of cashless shopping.
iRemit has also
received numerous awards
as a top collection partner
for of SSS, Pag-Ibig and
PhilHealth contributions.
All contributions made to
WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM
these agencies through
iRemit are directly deposited
in these institutions on the
same day, and in the same
amount that it was issued
here in Canada.
Choa adds that iRemit
is also connected to 56
property developers in the
Philippines, and monthly
amortizations for property
in the Philippines can be
paid for through their
offices, giving customers
the confidence that their
payments would be well
accounted for.
“You can visit any of
our seven offices and about
a hundred agents across
Canada, including Toronto,
Winnipeg,
Edmonton,
Calgary and Vancouver, and
ask them about their SSS,
Pag-Ibig and PhilHealth
accounts and the privileges
they are entitled to but
may have been missing
out on while they are here
in Canada,” Choa said.
“Our people are equipped
to help our kababayans get
the information they need
so that their hard-earned
money can be collected and
delivered to the agencies
that they contribute to.”
Choa says that
if
Filipinos need more
information, they can even
directly email to iRemit in
Manila for answers to their
questions. Send your email
to [email protected] or
visit www.myiremit.com.