VOL. 32 w NO. 41 w October 5-11, 2018 w NATIONAL EDITION w NEW JERSEY w NEW YORK w 201-434-1114 Possible 'growth' seen in Duterte's digestive tract after test PALACE TO RELEASE PRESIDENT'S MEDICAL BULLETIN IF IT'S CRITICAL By Nestor Corrales The result of the endoscopy of President Rodrigo Duterte showed a possible “growth” in his digestive tract that prompted him to make further examinations, Malacanang said Friday, Oct. 5. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Duterte revealed about the result of his endoscopy during the joint command conference of the police and the military u Pa inge 6 Filipino home care workers win as LA city attorney settles wage theft case Page 4 NY Times: Trump got 413M from his dad, much from tax dodges Page 7 Trump’s new proposal on public aid triggers panic among immigrants Page 9 Los Angeles City Attorney with victorious Filipino home care workers. LA CA WEBSITE Bans galore await tourists when Boracay reopens Page 2 Tuna catchers decry raw deal on payment Reds recruiting in 18 schools Page 20 for oust-Duterte plot - AFP By Jeannette I. Andrade A senior military officer on Wednesday, Oct. 3, warned that communist rebels were recruiting students from some of the country's top universities to join a plot to oust President Rodrigo Duterte so they could establish a dictatorship similar to the brutal Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia that killed millions of its own people. Brig. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr., assistant deputy chief of staff for operations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, told reporters that the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People's Army (NPA), had infiltrated 18 schools in Golden girls: US wins 3rd straight women’s Metro Manila, including De La Salle University (DLSU) and Ateneo de Manila University hoops World Cup Page 28 u Page 6 October 5-11, 2018 Page 2 THE FILIPINO EXPRESS Bans galore await tourists when Boracay reopens By Nestor P. Burgos Jr. BORACAY ISLAND -- When Boracay reopens on Oct. 26, fewer tourists will be allowed into the island and they will have to follow strict regulations that will help preserve the world-famous tourist spot, officials said on Friday, Sept. 28. Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said President Duterte ordered a limit to the number of tourists to sustain the island's “carrying capacity” based on a study commissioned by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). LONG WAIT ENDING SOON. On Oct. 26, the public will finally get to see the results of Boracay's The study showed that the island could accommodate only six-month rehabilitation, shown here as it kicked off in April. - LYN RILLON 19,215 tourists at any given time. Daily tourist arrivals should also be limited to 6,405, Boracay folk divided over new regulations according the study, whose results were presented during a By Nestor P. Burgos Jr. public hearing of the House committee on natural resources held here. BORACAY ISLAND -- Residents and business owners in Carrying capacity refers to the maximum number of people Boracay await the reopening of the resort island to tourists on that can be sustained by the island environment. Oct. 26. But government guidelines have drawn mixed reactions The total carrying capacity of the island including tourists barely a month before the six-month closure ends. and residents is 55,757, according to the Comprehensive “Some of the guidelines, many of which are already covered by Land Use Plan, or 54,949 based on Presidential Proclamation local ordinances, are good,” said a longtime resident and No. 1064, which classified parts of Boracay into alienable and business operator. Others are ridiculous, if not stupid,” he added. disposal, forest lands and protected areas. The resident asked not to be named to avoid antagonizing officials overseeing the rehabilitation of the island. Flight reductions Among the measures welcomed by people were those meant Before it was closed on April 26, the island's population, to protect the environment, especially the ban on construction of including tourists, was 70,781 per day. new establishments. If the tourist arrivals would be limited to the island's carrying capacity, 249 hotels and beach resorts would be Protecting bats needed - fewer than the 430 hotels and beach resorts Conservationists also welcomed a limited or total ban on accredited in 2017, Puyat said. fireworks to protect the flying foxes, the endangered fruit bats She said the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF) that have roosting sites at the northern end of the island. would finalize measures to regulate the number of visitors. The population of the bats has significantly decreased due to One way to do that is to reduce the number of flights as 98 encroachment on their habitat and human activity on the island. percent of Boracay tourists take the plane to go there. The guidelines also included a ban on open fires and the use of Puyat said at least 2,063 rooms would be ready and 25 kerosene gas and gas lamps along the beach, which would apply establishments had been accredited and cleared to operate to popular fire dance performances. for Boracay's “soft opening” on Oct. 26. “I agree with this because of the gas fumes,” the resident said. The improved road network would include sidewalks. She said those numbers were expected to increase as more establishments comply with the requirements of various Noise pollution government agencies. Officials of the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force said Officials said stringent measures would be implemented to structures on sidewalks, like stalls, would be banned. ensure that the environment is protected. Also welcomed was a policy for establishments to use noise Tables, chairs and massage beds will be banned from the insulation systems. main beach and the beaches of Puka, Ilig-iligan and Bulabog, Workers in the informal sector, however, expressed concern according to the guidelines set for approval by the BIATF. over the ban on vendors and stalls on the beach. Souvenir stalls and shops will also be banned from the “There was no mention of what will happen to us,” said Olive beachfront. Abanera, spokesperson for We Are Boracay, a group of vendors, Piggeries and poultries as well as pets will be disallowed tricycle drivers, masseuses, tour guides and other workers on in beach areas. the island. “We, not business operators, have suffered the most,” There will be no smoking in public areas as well as parties she said. “But we do not see us included in the plans,” she added. on the beachfront, except those covered by a permit for special events. Harebrained idea DENR Undersecretary Sherwin Rigor said casinos and Among the controversial measures being proposed was the online gambling would not be allowed and the island would use of tap cards or bracelets to regulate the number of tourists. be closed for one month yearly for it to recover. “What do they think of Boracay, a theme park?” a business operator said. Jose Clemente, president of Tourism Congress of Roadworks lagging the Philippines, said he did not know of any beach or island Only a small portion of the expanded 7-kilometer road destination that required tourists to wear bracelets to regulate u Page 24 the number of tourists. - Inquirer.net October 5-11, 2018 Page 3 THE FILIPINO EXPRESS Flying Non-Stop between NEW YORK and MANILA Starting October 30, 2018 October 5-11, 2018 Page 4 THE FILIPINO EXPRESS Filipino home care workers win as LA city attorney settles wage theft case LOS ANGELES -- The city attorney has reached a settlement with a San Fernando Valley home care provider that allegedly failed to pay its employees minimum wage and overtime. Emelyn Nishi and her companies Health Alliance Nurses Corp. in Van Nuys and Hand Homecare Provider Inc. in Canoga Park have agreed to pay $250,000 in restitution to settle the allegations. The defendants have also agreed to paying $100,000 in civil penalties and costs. City Attorney Mike Feuer said the settlement sends a signal that his office takes allegations of wage theft seriously. Nishi and the companies allegedly paid its employees, mostly Filipino immigrants, as little as $5.50 per hour or less. In addition, workers were allegedly pressured to falsify time records to hide overtime work. They were also allegedly threatened with termination or blacklisting. “Hardworking men and women have the right to a minimum wage and overtime. No worker should be forced into poverty because an employer denies them these rights,” Feuer said in a statement. “After organizing for nearly three years to win dignity from Philippine's Secretary for Foreign Affairs Alan Peter Cayetano addresses the 72nd Health Alliance Nurses Corporation, caregivers together with Session of the United Nations General assembly at the UN headquarters in New York the Pilipino Workers Center celebrate this settlement as a on September 23, 2017. / AFP FILE PHOTO victory,” said PWC Executive Director Aquilina Versoza- Sorianoin a statement. “This resolution sends a message to the private homecare Cayetano defends Duterte's drug industry that these common employment practices are illegal and that agencies must come into compliance with the law - both to honor the dignity of caregivers and to ensure quality of war at UN General Assembly care for consumers,” she added. - Inquirer.net The Foreign Affairs Secretary says it has prevented prevented the Philippines from becoming a narco-state By Christia Marie Ramos Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano defended the Duterte administration's drug war at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Saturday, Sept.