052017 - Los Angeles Weekend Edition

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May 20-23, 2017 Volume 27 - No. 41 • 4 Sections – 30 Pages

DATELINE

USA

FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA

CA Atty. Gen. to lead effort to help save Obamacare 15 states to take legal action against Trump administration

AS a way to fight for the millions of Americans who would lose health insurance without the Affordable Care Act (ACA), California Attorney General Xavier Becerra this week announced legal action against the Trump administration to help save the landmark health care bill. Leading the fight alongside New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, Becerra announced that he, Schneiderman and 13 other state attorneys general have made moves to intervene in House v. Price, a lawsuit that challenges a part in the ACA — also known as Obamacare — that lowers deductibles and other out-of-pocket expenses for lower-income Americans and their families. “No parent should worry if they can afford to take their child to a doctor or hos-

PH rejects $278.7-M EU grant Palace: Refusal of aid ‘with conditions’ attests PH independence by DANA

SIOSON AJPress

THE Duterte administration has stopped accepting aid “with conditions” from the European Union (EU) to assert the Philippines’ independence as a nation, Malacañang said on Thursday, May 18. According to Philippine Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, the administration has decided to reject new EU grants to “prevent” the latter from

“interfering” with the internal affairs of the Philippines. “To enable them not to interfere with our internal affairs. We’re supposed to be an independent nation,” Medialdea told reporters. This could mean a loss of about €250 million or $278.73 million worth of grants, which are mostly allocated to peace processes in Mindanao, according to EU Ambassador Franz Jessen. “The amount possibly concerned

by the new decision is 250 million euro plus. For this year the amount affected could be 100 million euro,” the ambassador said. Spokesperson Ernesto Abella, however, clarified that the Philippine government would only refuse new grants from the EU which “impose certain conditionalities that will interfere with the way we handle things, that we consider objectionable.” “These grants pertain to particular projects or programs that have the

HOME care is one of the fastest-growing industries in the United States, with more seniors and people with disabilities relying on the aid of caregivers. However, many home care providers are struggling to provide the care that their patients — mainly people with disabilities and seniors — due to insufficient public funding for California’s home care industry. As a way to further understanding of the quickly growing homecare industry, the UCLA Labor Center — along with the Pilipino Workers Center (PWC), Hand in Hand: The Domestic Employer Network, and Senior Disability Action — collaborated on a comprehensive study on the challenges that homecare providers face. The study, called “Struggles and Support: California’s Homecare Employers,” advocates for the further expansion of resources within the state. It found that the demand for home care workers is high, but the insufficient public funding puts a major

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President Rodrigo Duterte gives a fist bump beside a television monitor airing a clip of his new TV show ‘Mula sa Masa, Para sa Masa.’ Malacañang photo

ASEAN, China agree on draft framework for code of conduct in the South China Sea

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New study: Home care employers underfunded, lack resources

potential of affecting the autonomy of the country,” Abella said in a media briefing. He also clarified that the Philippines would still accept development assistance, which is given unconditionally. “We’ll take it on a case-to-case basis. We can accept or respectfully decline that which we find objectionable,” he said. Existing development assistance

by AJPRESS

BALIKATAN 2017. A Filipino soldier prepares to fire off a mortar round with U.S. Marines assigned to 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment during Balikatan 2017 at Fort Magsaysay in Santa Rosa. The exercise allows Philippine and U.S. militaries build upon shared tactics, techniques, and procedures that enhance readiness and response capabilities to emerging threats. Balikatan is an annual U.S.-Philippine bilateral military exercise focused on a variety of missions, including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, counterterrorism, and other combined military operations. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Daniel James Lewis

SALN BARES SENATE’S BILLIONAIRES, MILLIONAIRES

Villar, Pacquiao are wealthiest; Trillanes poorest by DANA

SIOSON AJPress

THERE are now two billionaires in the Philippine Senate, with boxer-Senator Manny Pacquiao joining Senator Cynthia Villar in the top spot. Based on the 24 senators’ 2016 statements of assets, liabilities and networth (SALN), Villar is richest member, with a net worth sans liabilities of P3.6 billion as of December 31, 2016.

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THE Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China have agreed on a draft framework for a code of conduct (COC) in the South China Sea, signaling a shift toward easing hostilities in the region. The ASEAN members and China came to an agreement on Thursday, May 18 after two days of discussion between officials and representatives in Guiyang, China. ”On the COC, we are pleased to announce that the senior officials have completed the negotiations on the draft COC framework,” coordinator of China-ASEAN relations Chee Wee Kiong declared in a joint press confer-

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DOJ may tap former PDEA exec as state witness against De Lima by AJPRESS

Senators Manny Pacquiao, Cynthia Villar and Antionio Trillanes IV

Pulitzer Prize-winning Fil-Am writer’s final story sparks international debate

THE Philippine Department of Justice (DOJ) is studying the possibility of having Marine Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand Marcelino serve as an additional state witness against Senator Leila De Lima, who is currently being detained over drug-related charges. Marcelino, also the former head of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)’s Special Enforcement Service, was released from detention on Thursday,

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“My Family’s Slave” by Alex Tizon shares one Filipino family’s relationship with domestic help by KLARIZE

MEDENILLA AJPress

Author and investigative journalist Alex Tizon. The magazine cover of The Atlantic’s June 2017 Image: Website/University of Oregon, School of issue with the controversial cover story “My Journalism and Communication Family’s Slave.”

WHEN The Atlantic published Alex Tizon’s “My Family’s Slave”, the deeply moving, personal story received international attention for capturing the life of a woman who loved and cared for him and his family.

Tizon tells the story of Eudocia Tomas Pulido, whom he and his family called ‘Lola’ growing up. Pulido spent her whole adult life as the Tizon’s family’s “slave”, a woman who gave up her life to serve them. The author details his parents’ cruel treatment of the woman

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Lt. Col Ferdinand Marcelino gets a hug from a friend after his release from detention on drug charges as his lawyer, Public Assistance Office chief Persida Rueda Acosta, looks on. ManilaTimes.net photo by Ruy Martinez


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