Fil-Am dies of 9/11 illness; son wants to meet Bush

WASHINGTON (AP) – A day after his father’s death, the grief-stricken son of a police officer who died from a Sept. 11-related illness, said Wednesday he wants to meet with President George W. Bush to describe his father’s sacrifice and the health needs of other sick ground zero workers.

Cesar Borja Jr. attended Bush’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night just hours after learning his father Cesar, a Filipino immigrant who became a US citizen, had died from lung problems resulting from exposure to toxic World Trade Center debris.

"I want a meeting with the president to make the case directly about how important these health programs are," Borja told The Associated Press. The 21-year-old college student was invited by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, a New York Democrat, to attend Bush’s speech as a reminder to the president of workers who were stricken with a host of illnesses after the ground zero cleanup.

His father, former New York policeman Cesar Borja, 52, died Tuesday in a Manhattan hospital, just before his son appeared at Bush’s State of the Union speech to symbolize the desperate health problems of his father and other sick Sept. 11 workers.

"I want him to hear from me, how my father died a hero last night, and there are many heroes that will and are continuing to die because they’re not given the proper medical attention or not given enough help from the federal government," said the younger Borja, his voice breaking with emotion.

His father had been in intensive care, breathing through a tube, at Mount Sinai Medical Center, awaiting a lung transplant. Hospital spokeswoman Lauren Woods confirmed the death late Tuesday.

The younger Borja learned of his father’s death in a phone call while eating dinner around 6:30 p.m. Seeking to honor his father, he insisted on attending the 9 p.m. speech.

"He passed away right when I’m down here fighting for him. This is the most I’ve ever done for Dad," the Daily News quoted Borja as saying as he learned of his father’s death.

Clinton called Borja’s death a "terrible tragedy."

The son, she said, "is a courageous and remarkable young man. His sense of duty to his father and to the mission that brought him to Washington is inspiring and heartbreaking."

The Hunter College student said he came to Washington to make the point that there are many more whose lives are threatened by their exposure at ground zero. After the Sept. 11 attacks, the elder Borja had volunteered for months of 16-hour shifts at ground zero so he could earn overtime pay to help support his family. He retired in 2003, and a steady cough was finally diagnosed as pulmonary fibrosis last fall – an illness which left him barely able to walk and his lungs filled with scar tissue.

"Nine/11 is not over. It didn’t end in 2001. It is still affecting my father and numerous other first responders," he said. "My father is an extreme example of what can happen and what may and will happen in the future."

Clinton and other New York lawmakers have been urging the federal government for years to pay for treating Sept. 11-related illnesses, and are asking Bush to put $1.9 billion into his budget for treatment.

While Democrats now control both chambers of the US Congress and have the power to pass and amend budget bills, the New York Democrats, who included Clinton and Sen. Charles Schumer, said the responsibility lay principally with the Republican White House.