News Roundup 13 July 2020
Jul 13, 2020 • 4 min Read
Philippines sees 836 new COVID-19 cases, 65 more deaths | PHILSTAR.COM – The total number of confirmed coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the Philippines rose to 57,006 Monday after 836 new infections were added to the country’s caseload. Meanwhile, recoveries increased by 4,325—the highest number reported in a single day. This raised the total number of COVID-19 survivors to 20,371. But 65 more people died from the severe respiratory illness. This pushed the nation’s fatality count to 1,599.
Robredo to Roque: Lawmakers should represent views of constituents | PHILSTAR.COM – Vice President Leni Robredo yesterday disagreed with presidential spokesman Harry Roque that the junking of ABS-CBN’s franchise by a committee of the House of Representatives was the “decision of the Filipino people.” Robredo said Roque’s statement contradicted the results of the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, which showed 75 percent of Filipinos supporting the franchise renewal of the television network. “When you say it’s the decision of the people, the (lawmakers) – that’s why they’re called representatives – should represent the views of their constituents,” the Vice President said over dzXL. Results of the survey were released on Saturday, a day after the House of Representatives’ committee on legislative franchises, in a vote of 70-11, denied the network a fresh 25-year franchise. Robredo also countered Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano’s claim that the panel conducted “fair, impartial, thorough and comprehensive” hearings. “I think many have watched the hearings and only the people can tell if they think the hearings were impartial,” the Vice President said.
Vilma Santos-Recto ‘prepared’ to face ‘consequences’ over ABS-CBN franchise vote | INQUIRER.NET – Deputy Speaker Batangas 6th District Rep. Vilma Santos-Recto on Monday said she is ready to face the “consequences” of her vote favoring ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal. While she is part of the “super majority,” Santos-Recto said she is an “independent thinker.” “It happened to me already when I voted ‘no’ do’n sa death penalty…sinabi nila na kailangan masuportahan yung major bill na ‘yun, ‘yung death penalty. I stood my ground and I voted ‘no’ so I lost my chairmanship,” she said in an interview on ABS-CBN News Channel’s “Headstart.” (It happened to me already when I voted ‘no’ to the death penalty…they said that there needs to be support for this major bill, which is the death penalty. I stood my ground and I voted ‘no’ so I lost my chairmanship). “Pero kung ano man yung naging desisyon ko ngayon dito sa renewal ng franchise ng ABS-CBN at magkakaroon ulit ng ganong consequences, I think I’m prepared for that so tanggapin natin ‘yun,” she added. (But whatever decision I made now regarding the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN and if it will have similar consequences, I’m prepared for that, we will accept that).
Lagman seeks repeal of 89-year-old law blamed partly for ABS-CBN’s downfall | Manila Bulletin – Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, a fierce defender of the ABS-CBN bid for legislative franchise, on Friday batted for the repeal of the Radio Control Act of 1931, the law he blamed as the culprit for the denial of the network’s franchise application. In a press statement, Lagman underscored the urgency of revoking the 89-year-old law by pointing out the need to “insulate press freedom from partisan politics.” Lagman said the move will also put an end to the “arbitrary denial” by legislators of the grant and renewal of legislative franchises to mass media firms.
VP warns vs public pushback | The Manila Times – Vice President Maria Leonor Robredo believes that the ABS-CBN Corp. issue has yet to come to a head as public clamor persists after a committee in the House of Representatives denied to grant the network a fresh franchise grant. “Hindi pa ito tapos dahil mayroong pushback ‘yung mga tao (This is not over because the people are pushing back),” Robredo said in her weekly radio show on Sunday. She was reacting to the call of House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano to “respect the decision of the committee and its members and begin to move forward in rebuilding the relationships that have been strained by this issue.” Robredo stressed that the public could decide if the hearings had been impartial and if other networks that had similar violations had been subjected to the same scrutiny. “Hindi ko ma-imagine na mangyayari ulit ito. Kasi noong panahon ng diktadurya, ganito din iyong nangyari. Akala ko noong tayo ay lumaban sa diktador ay natuto na tayo ng mga leksyon. Pero nauulit ang kasaysayan — ‘yung aral mauulit din. Iyong pagmamalabis, ‘yung panggigipit — napapapaniwala iyong tao some of the time, pero hindi all the time. ‘Yung tao marunong tumingin kung ano iyong katotohanan at ‘yung katotohanan, sa kahuli-hulihan naman, ‘yun ‘yung lalabas (I could not imagine that this would happen again because this also happened during the [Marcos] dictatorship. I thought when we fought against the dictator we have learned our lessons, but history repeats itself — the lessons will be repeated. The abuses, the repression — people are made to believe some of the time, but not all the time. People know the truth and the truth, in the end, will come out),” she said.
