News Roundup 28 June 2022
Jun 28, 2022 • 5 min Read
SC junks pleas vs Marcos Jr. candidacy, clears path to inauguration | PHILSTAR.COM – The Supreme Court has junked petitions challenging the candidacy of Ferdinand Marcos Jr., clearing the path to his oath-taking as the 17th president of the Philippines. The SC en banc voted 13-0 to junk one plea challenging the Commission on Elections’s ruling that junked their petition against Marcos’ Certificate of Candidacy and another that dismissed their disqualification case. “The Court held that in the exercise of its power to decide the present controversy led them to no other conclusion but that respondent Marcos Jr. is qualified to run for and be elected to public office. Likewise, his COC, being valid and in accord with the pertinent law, was rightfully upheld by the Comelec,” the Supreme Court Public Information Office said in a release. No other details on how the justices agreed that Marcos’ COC is valid following the law — as upheld by the Comelec — was given in the briefer. Associate Justice Rodil Zalameda penned the ruling, but a full copy of the decision has yet to be made public. Associate Justices Henri Jean Paul Inting and Antonio Kho Jr. took no part in the decision. Kho was elections commissioner before he was appointed to the SC while Inting’s sister Socorro is a sitting Comelec commissioner. The SC resolved the petitions just two days before Marcos’ inauguration on June 30. In their Comment seeking the dismissal of the pleas, Marcos’ counsel said: “It is respectfully prayed of the Honorable Court to protect the free choice of the Sovereign Filipino People that their President is respondent Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and to dismiss the instant Petition for Certiorari dated May 16, 2022 for lack of jurisdiction and/or complete of merit.” Marcos’ lawyers also pointed out that the Congress proceeded to canvass the Certificates of Canvass and proclaimed him as president on May 25, after securing a historic majority vote of 31,629,783. “In light of the above, the Supreme Court has lost jurisdiction over the instant case. Any issue as to the qualifications of respondent Marcos Jr. falls within the sole and exclusive jurisdiction of the Presidential Electoral Tribunal as provided in the Constitution,” they argued. The Buenafe petition, filed by civic leaders represented by Theodore Te, sought the cancellation of Marcos’ COC, accusing him of “misrepresentations pertaining to his eligibility due to his prior convictions under the 1977 [National Internal Revenue Code].” Meanwhile, Martial Law victims led by Bonifacio Ilagan wanted Marcos disqualified as a candidate. The Ilagan petition also cited the conviction of Marcos on the non-filing of Income Tax Returns for four years. Among the grounds they cited is that Marcos was convicted of a crime of moral turpitude which should result in his disqualification. They lost at the Comelec division and later at the commission en banc, prompting them to run to the Supreme Court for relief.
DOE: Higher fuel prices possible next week as peso weakens | PHLSTAR.COM – Consumers may have to brace for another round of fuel price hikes in the coming week as prices rise in the global market and the peso weakens against the US dollar. Local oil companies price their products on a daily basis, but announce the adjustments every week. Their advisories sum up the daily changes in fuel prices. “‘Yung trend kahapon, Monday [June 27], lumabas na ang global market price sa trading. May bahagyang pagtaas po so kung ganito ‘yung tutuluyan nito, magsasama or magcocompound ‘yung pagtaas ng presyo at nung pagtaas ng dolyar,” Department of Energy Undersecretary Gerardo Erguiza said during the Laging Handa briefing on Tuesday. (The trend yesterday, Monday, showed that there is a slight increase, so if this continues, higher prices and the strengthening of the dollar will compound.”) Erguiza explained that there are many variables which cause the rise in fuel prices, but the latest is the rising foreign exchange rate. The Philippines is heavily dependent on the world market for its oil, and a weak currency can make oil imports more expensive. On June 22, the local currency ended the trading day at P54.47 against the US dollar, the worst performance in 16 years, as the Central Bank kept its dovish stance in the face of a more aggressive US Federal Reserve.
DOH projects up to 4,600 COVID-19 daily cases in NCR by mid-July | INQUIRER.NET – The Department of Health (DOH) is projecting up to 4,600 COVID-19 daily cases in the National Capital Region by mid-July amid the public’s increased mobility and declining compliance with minimum public health standards. “May updated projections po tayo kung saan ang ginamit po na assumptions, unang-una yung mataas na mobility sa ating bansa, and then second yung pag-decline ng compliance sa minimum public health standards,” DOH Undersecretary Ma. Rosario Vergeire said in an interview over Teleradyo on Tuesday. (We have updated projections wherein we used as assumptions the increased mobility in our country, and second is the declining compliance with minimum public health standards.) According to Vergeire, the public’s compliance with minimum health protocols declined by 21 percent. “Currently po ang decline na po natin sa pag-comply ay 21 percent, ‘pag ganito po ang nangyari, we are seeing that by the middle of July, baka tumaas pa ang ating daily cases dito sa National Capital Region from 3,800 to 4,600,” she said. (Currently, the compliance has declined by 21 percent, if this happens we are seeing that by the middle of July, our daily cases here in the National Capital Region may increase from 3,800 to 4,600.) “So ito po yung atin pong bagong projections compared ito sa number of daily cases natin sa ngayon [So these are our new projections compared to the number of daily cases now],” she added. On Monday, the DOH reported a total of 4,634 new COVID-19 cases in the country between June 20 and 26, an increase of 53 percent compared with the 3,051 cases logged in the previous week. “Nakikita nga natin na tuloy tuloy tumataas ang mga kaso dito sa ating bansa and nakita rin po natin na mukhang pati yung positivity rate natin ay tumataas,” Vergeire said. (We are seeing a continuous increase of cases here in our country and we are also seeing that our positivity rate is increasing as well.)
