News Roundup 14 December 2019
Dec 14, 2019 • 2 min Read
Ramos to Duterte: Gov’t gave its word in water deals | INQUIRER.net – Former President Fidel V. Ramos has vouched for the integrity of his administration’s water concession agreements with two of the country’s biggest conglomerates, which had angered President Duterte who said they contained onerous provisions. In a Dec. 4 letter to the President, a copy of which was obtained by the Inquirer on Friday, the 91-year-old Ramos recalled that the privatization of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) in 1997 and the concession agreements were designed to provide water and sanitation to the sprawling Philippine capital, “which at that time was facing a water crisis.” The former president added that the privatization and its concession agreements were recognized as the first of its kind in Asia and viewed as an example by other countries.
De Lima welcomes US Senate resolution calling for her release | Philstar.com – Detained Sen. Leila de Lima on Saturday said that a recently approved United States Senate resolution that urges her immediate release is proof that all charges against her are fabricated and politically-motivated. “I say with utmost candor that this strong, and resoundingly unanimous and bipartisan support for me and my causes from the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and earlier, from the Appropriations Committee, is further proof of the fakeness of the charges against me,” the senator said in a dispatch from Camp Crame.
VP Leni disowns fake post in social media | Manila Bulletin – An online post showing Vice President Leni Robredo’s photo and her quote about water in connection with the issue against the country’s two biggest water concessionaires was fake, her office said. Robredo, a lawyer, shared a screengrab of the Facebook post and reminded the public to be discerning when it comes to social media posts that spread false information. “Walang katotohanan ang kumakalat na post sa social media patungkol sa sinabi diumano ni VP Leni na may kinalaman sa mga ‘oligarchs’ at tubig,” her office said in Robredo’s official Facebook page.
5 people dead in Quezon road crash | The Manila Times – Five people were confirmed dead in a road crash in Pagbilao, Quezon on Saturday, police reported. Based on the report by the Quezon Provincial Police Office (PPO), five unnamed passengers died when a bus and a car collided along the new diversion road on Upper Sapinit, Barangay Silangang Palicboy at 4 p.m. In an initial investigation, a Mitsubishi Canter alumimum closed van came from the south and accidentally collided with a Cul passenger bus, which came from the opposite lane. The driver of the car identified as Sander Sisic Solivares is facing cases for damage to property, multiple homicide and multiple physical injuries.
