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MAY 9-15, 2019
T H E F I L I P I N O –A M E R I C A N C O M M U N I T Y N E W S PA P E R
Volume 30 - No. 19 • 16 Pages
2770 S. Maryland Pkwy., Suite 200 Las Vegas, NV 89109 Tel: (702) 792-6678 • Fax: (702) 792-6879
Also published in LOS ANGELES, ORANGE COUNTY/INLAND EMPIRE, NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY
USA
DATELINE PH, US plan bigger joint army exercises in 2020 FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA
THE armies of the Philippines and United States are planning to stage bigger joint exercises next year with the presence of more American troops. The military drills will involve the brigade combat teams or mobile maneuver force of the Philippine Army and U.S. Army Pacific Command (USARPAC). A brigade is usually composed of around 1,500 soldiers. “There is a proposed concept to expand the Salaknib through the participation of more troops from the USARPAC. Under the proposed expansion, they shall send a whole brigade composed of about 1,700 troops for Salaknib 2020,” Army public affairs chief Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said Wednesday, May 8. “As part of the Mutual Defense Treaty, this is a way to prepare for large-scale conflict should it happen,” he added. Salaknib is an annual, bilateral exercise between the Philippine Army and USARPAC aimed at enhancing the interoperability in conventional warfare and counterterrorism operations. Held since 2015 in the Philippines, the Salaknib is a preparation for the annual largescale exercise Balikatan. The USARPAC sent less than 1,000 troops for the exercises carried out early this year,
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Measures for Filipino workers highlighted at 100th anniversary of International Labor Organization THE Philippines has highlighted initiatives that ensure decent work and social protection of Filipino workers during the 100th anniversary celebration of the International Labor Organization (ILO). In addressing the emerging challenges in the future of work, chargé d’ affaires and deputy permanent representative to the UN Kira Christianne Azucena said the country focuses on promoting decent work while protecting the rights and welfare of Filipino workers at home and overseas. During the event, held recently in New York, Azucena enumerated measures to showcase these initiatives. These include the Green Jobs Act of 2016, which provides incentives to enterprises generating green jobs; the Telecommuting Act, which allows an employee to work from home or other alternative workplace through the
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‘Plot vs Duterte may include assassination’ by CATHERINE
VALENTE ManilaTimes.net
THE destabilization plot against President Rodrigo Duterte might include a plan to assassinate the Chief Executive, an official of Dakilang Lahi Foundation said on Tuesday, May 7. Anthony Castelo, former Quezon City councilor and now president of the Dakilang Lahi Foundation, called on Filipinos to pray for Duterte’s safety amid an “assassination” threat against the president. “I strongly believe that there’s a serious ‘Oust Duterte’ plot now in full swing that may include the assassination of the president as an option,” Castelo said in a statement.
“We must pray for the safety of the president and protection of our country,” he added. Castelo’s statement came weeks after Malacañang released a matrix that linked several journalists to a supposed ouster plot against Duterte. The groups tagged in the alleged plot denied the allegations. Castelo, one of the Philippines’ music icons, said “history tells us that the most appropriate time for perpetrators to execute a plan to unseat a president in office, is when people are divided right around a national election period.” “We’ve seen this happen during the time of president [Ferdinand]Marcos in 1986 and president [Jo-
seph] Estrada in 2001 — where a planned assassination of both presidents were indeed an option, it just did not materialize,” he added. He said the so-called “Oust Duterte” plot “was hatched early on and has been in motion since the president’s first day in office in 2016.” “However, for this plot to succeed, it must have public support and military backing,” he pointed out. This, he added, was unlikely since the President’s popularity rating remained high and he was a “darling” of the military. Castelo warned that those behind the “grand destabilization plot” might, in a desperate move, “opt
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Peter Joemel Advincula, the man who surfaced and claimed to be “Bikoy” in the “Ang Totoong Narco-list” videos that linked several relatives of President Duterte to the illegal drug trade in the country. Philstar.com photo
Senate cancels hearing on Bikoy’s allegations by NATHALIE
ROBLES
AJPress
THE scheduled Senate investigation on Friday, May 10, regarding the allegations presented by Bikoy, the hooded figure in the “Ang Totoong Narcolist” videos THANKSGIVING DINNER. President Rodrigo Duterte and his long-time partner Cielito “Honeylet” Avanceña strike the President’s signature will no longer push through. pose with the guests during a dinner hosted by the president at the Malacañang Palace on Tuesday, May 7. Many of the stars who attended In a Twitter post on Wednesday, May 8, Senate Com- either backed Duterte’s campaign or have been spotted in political sorties alongside senatorial candidate Bong Go, Duterte’s former
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presidential assistant.
Malacañang photo by Valerie Escalera
West PH Sea faces new problem — garbage Marine scientists explains how our activities is the biggest threat on ecosystems by RITCHEL
MENDIOLA AJPress
THE sight of plastic waste and other floating garbage greeted a team of young marine scientists when they sailed the Kalayaan Island Group in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) to study its biodiversity. Led by the University of the Philippines’ Marine Science InDuring a recent marine science expedition, researchers from the University of the Philippines found plastic bottles, sachets, cigarette packs and stitute (UP MSI), the 74-member fluorescent lamps, among other garbage, on sandbars in the Kalayaan “Protect WPS” expedition, or Predicting Responses between Workers arrange ballot boxes before they are distributed to designated polling precincts for Island Group, areas in the South China Sea claimed by Manila. the elections on Monday, May 13. Philstar.com photo by Edd Gumban
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Photos courtesy of UP Marine Science Institute
DOLE to inspect Chinese-owned firms Comelec ready for May 13 elections by RITCHEL
by HELEN
Chinese workers walk past posters showing images of home as they begin the day’s work on the China-funded Binondo-Intramuros Bridge in Manila. Inquirer.net photo by Joan Bondoc
MENDIOLA AJPress
FLORES, MAYEN JAYMALIN Philstar.com
MANILA — The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) will check if Chinese firms in the country are complying with labor laws. Labor Assistant Secretary Benjo Benavidez made the commitment in response to reports that some Chinese-owned firms and establishments in the country cater exclusively to Chinese nationals and are openly barring Filipinos. “We will look into the employment side,” Benavidez said, noting that ensuring consumer protection is beyond DOLE’s authority. Labor groups were demand-
ing the hiring of more Filipino workers for China-funded construction projects. “Jobs in the construction industry should increase given the massive amount of investment we are pouring into it. But how many workers actually benefited from these jobs? How many of them are Filipinos workers and how many are Chinese? And more importantly, how decent are these jobs generated?” Nagkaisa labor coalition Sonny Matula said. He said possibly only a few Filipino workers are benefitting from jobs generated by Chinese-
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THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday, May 7, began its final testing and sealing (FTS) of the 85,000 vote counting machines (VCMs). This will determine if the VCMs can count the votes accurately as well as if the results will be transmitted to the canvassing centers from the polling precincts. “We are ready,” said James Jimenez, spokesman for the Comelec. “The delivery of election materials is almost 100 percent complete.” Members of the media were toured by the Comelec around the PICC-The Forum facility, where the national canvassing of ballots will be held. The Comelec expects to an-
nounce the winners in the local elections within 24 to 36 hours after voting closes at the polling precincts. For the proclamation of the Magic 12 in the senatorial race, meanwhile, the target is within two weeks after the elections. Both the Comelec and Philippine National Police (PNP) are hopeful that the midterm polls will have peace and order. According to Jimenez, fewer areas are considered poll hotspots. Less than 550 areas fall under Category Red, which is the highest stage among the hotspots, due to the presence of armed groups and history of election-related violence. “I think this is important because at the start of the year or even before the election period,
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