News Roundup 28 July 2020
Jul 28, 2020 • 3 min Read
COVID-19 cases in Philippines climb past 83,000 | PHILSTAR.COM – The number of coronavirus infections in the Philippines surged past 83,000 with nearly 2,000 deaths, the Department of Health said Tuesday. The department reported 1,678 additional cases, bringing the national total to 83,673. The number of active cases—or patients who have yet to recover—reached 55,109. The DOH also logged 173 additional recoveries. This pushed to 26,617 the number of COVID-19 survivors in the country. But four more coronavirus-related deaths were recorded, raising the fatality count to 1,947.
DOH: Nationwide hospital occupancy at ‘warning zone’ but still manageable | PHILSTAR.COM – As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the country, occupancy for coronavirus and non-coronavirus beds are now at “warning zone” nationwide, the Department of Health said Tuesday. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that hospital bed occupancy for COVID-19 was already at 52.3% while occupancy for non-coronavirus beds was at 50%. This means 8,577 out of the 16,388 hospital beds dedicated for COVID-19 cases across the country are being utilized. Vergeire said that while the national hospital bed occupancy was already at warning zone, the situation is still “manageable.” However, the surge in coronavirus cases has strained hospitals in Metro Manila, which remains the epicenter of the nation’s outbreak. The occupancy for ICU beds (73%), isolation beds (82%) and ward beds (86%) in the capital region was at “danger zone.”
House minority leader tells colleagues: Tackle PhilHealth scandal now | INQUIRER.NET – House Minority Leader Bienvenido Abante Jr. on Monday (July 27) called on the lower chamber to tackle alleged irregularities in the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) especially at a time when the country continued to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic. In his Contra-SONA speech delivered before members of the House, Abante said that a year after he exposed alleged fraud in PhilHealth, the same allegations are being hurled at the state-owned insurer. “I remember that the reason why the President has appointed the president of PhilHealth today, General [Ricardo] Morales, is for him to address corruption,” Abante said in his speech. “I am asking now the president of PhilHealth, where are now the list of corruption (cases) if ever they were investigated,” Abante said. Abante made the remark amid fresh allegations of corruption in the agency.
Opposition senators slam Duterte for attacking Drilon | Manila Bulletin – Opposition senators on Tuesday expressed their dismay at President Duterte’s attacks against Senate minority leader Franklin Drilon during his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA), saying it does not bode well for a country struggling to rise above the COVID-19 pandemic. Sen. Risa Hontiveros said Duterte’s move to publicly castigate Drilon for his stance on the ABS-CBN Corp.’s franchise, for allegedly attacking his family by floating ideas of removing political dynasty and his alleged involvement in onerous water concession deals was nothing but a mere attempt to deflect the public’s attention from more important issues at hand. “Instead of inspiring hope and presenting a cohesive plan to the Filipino people in the middle of a crisis, the President used his State of the Nation Address to rant about his personal grudge against the media and assail his critics including Senate Minority Leader Frank Drilon,” Hontiveros said in a statement. “Clearly, walang plano para sa taumbayan (he has no plans for the people). These so-called attacks against the oligarchy are yet another distraction from the lack of leadership in handling this crisis,” she pointed out. Compared to the President, she said Drilon is not a part of any political dynasty.
Oil prices up again | The Manila Times – Oil companies will raise the prices of gasoline and kerosene by 30 centavos per liter each and diesel by 25 centavos per liter. Chevron Philippines, Petro Gazz, Pilipinas Shell and Seaoil announced that they would jack up their pump prices today, July 28. Last week, oil companies reduced the cost of gasoline by 10 to 20 centavos per liter and kerosene by 15 centavos per liter. There was no movement on the price of diesel.
