BORACAY ISLAND - Bookings for water sports here must be coursed through hotels and resorts, not

peddlers on the beach, authorities said Saturday, as the ban on water activities was lifted.

This is to avoid the proliferation of illegal tour coordinators and commissioners, said Al Orolfo, Deputy
Ground Commander of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Boracay.

There will be designated pick up points for each activity on Stations 1 and 3 on White Beach to prevent
overcrowding the beach line, he said.

Water sports that use motorized equipment like jet skiing and diving will be allowed to resume starting
November 7, Environment Undersecretary Benny Antiporda said.

Island-hopping tours will, meanwhile, resume on November 15, he said.

The government earlier banned all water sports on the island while the environment department
undertook marine biodiversity tests.

Select activities resumed Saturday, a week after the island was reopened to tourists.

Select water sports to be allowed in Boracay starting Nov. 3 - DENR chief

The island, one of the top tourist destinations in the country, was closed to tourists in April for a half-
year rehabilitation after President Rodrigo Duterte said its once pristine waters have turned into
cesspools.
MANILA - The Department of Justice on Thursday took custody of former Customs intelligence agent
Jaime Guban who was tagged in the alleged P11-billion drug slip involving the bureau.

The Office of the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms confirmed that Guban, sporting a bullet-proof vest, was taken
by officers of the DOJ Witness Protection Program at around 12:30 p.m.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra earlier said Guban was admitted to the witness protection program
after the recommendation by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.

"As to his whereabouts, top secret. He will be protected till he testifies in court and threats to his
personal safety have become manageable," said Guevarra.

Guban was tagged in the release of 4 magnetic lifters allegedly containing shabu. But he earlier claimed
that he tried to block it upon learning about the drugs from Senior Supt. Eduardo Acierto.

The 4 magnetic lifters were eventually found empty in General Mariano Alvarez, Cavite three days after
Customs personnel busted similar-looking lifters at a Manila port.

Before he was taken by the DOJ, Guban was under the protective custody of the Senate as the Blue
Ribbon Committee held a series of hearings on the issue.

The Senate first cited Guban in contempt and detained him for giving conflicting statements during its
investigation but this changed when he started revealing details of the case.
MANILA - Australian missionary nun Patricia Fox, who is set to leave the Philippines Saturday over an
expired visa while fighting allegations of joining "partisan political activities," said she hopes President
Rodrigo Duterte would listen to the poor and marginalized Filipinos.

The 72-year-old nun has been doing missionary work in the country for nearly 3 decades but was
recently expelled by the Bureau of Immigration for allegedly taking part in political rallies, which
supposedly violates terms of her missionary visa.

She is set to go back to Australia after her 59-day temporary visitor visa expired while her appeal against
her deportation remains pending at the Department of Justice (DOJ).

"Sana makikinig siya ng mga daing ng mga maliliit na tao, hindi lamang military, hindi lamang mga
businessman, pero mga urban poor, mga magsasaka mga manggagawa, mga katutubo," said Fox, who is
fluent in Filipino, after a thanksgiving Mass at St. Joseph’s College in Quezon City.

(I hope he listens to the plight of the poor, not just the military or businessmen, but also the urban poor,
farmers, workers, and the indigenous people.)

The nun was taken from her house and was initially detained last April 16 after she joined a human rights
fact-finding mission in Mindanao. She was released the next day.

President Rodrigo Duterte himself had admitted that he ordered Fox investigated for alleged "disorderly
conduct" but denied that he ordered her arrest and deportation.

Duterte also called the church worker "foul-mouthed."

Duterte says he ordered Aussie nun probed for 'disorderly conduct'

Fox made light of this, saying: "Hanggang ngayon hindi ko alam kung bakit si Digong ayaw sa akin."
(Until now, I don't know why Digong does not like me.)

Her quip drew laughter from her supporters.

Amid allegations of joining "political activities" that supposedly violates her missionary visa, Fox insisted
that she has done nothing wrong as she was only doing church work.

Fox is set to leave the country Saturday night. Her supporters are expected to hold a protest caravan as
they accompany the nun to the airport.