News Roundup 01 October 2020
Oct 01, 2020 • 3 min Read
COVID-19 caseload in Philippines climbs to 314,079 | PHILSTAR.COM – The number of coronavirus cases in the Philippines rose to 314,079 after 2,415 new infections were recorded, the Department of Health said Thursday. There were also 771 new recoveries and 59 additional deaths, bringing the totals to 254,223 and 5,562, respectively. The DOH said there are 54,294 active cases or those who are still undergoing treatment and quarantine.
Makati converts jeepneys into learning hubs | PHILSTAR.COM – Several jeepneys in Makati have been converted into mobile learning hubs to help students who do not have internet access and cannot participate in the distance learning system. Twenty-seven jeepneys will be used by the local government for the city’s mobile learning hub project. Each vehicle will be equipped with laptops, internet connection, books and other learning materials, Mayor Abby Binay said yesterday. The jeepneys, which the city government call “Dyipni Makati,” will go around the barangays from Monday to Saturday. “We want to ensure the continuous learning of students while keeping them safe from COVID-19 infection,” Binay said.
There is ‘strong clamor’ for Filipino nurses abroad, says Bello | INQUIRER.NET – Other countries are clamoring for the services of Filipino nurses, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III told lawmakers on Thursday as the Philippines temporarily banned the deployment of medical workers overseas. During the hearing on the proposed 2021 budget of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) at the Senate, Bello said a lot of countries are reaching out to him to allow the deployment of Filipino nurses. “There is a strong clamor for the deployment of our nurses. Ang daming mga countries na they’ve been contacting me through their embassies na kung maaari we will allow our nurses to go,” Bello said. (There is a strong clamor for the deployment of our nurses. There are many countries contacting me through their embassies for us to allow our nurses to go.) “Kaya lang we have to make sure na before we can send our nurses e meron naman tayong mga nurses that will attend to the medical needs of our countrymen,” he added. (But we have to make sure that before we allow the total deployment of our nurses, we have enough of them to attend to the medical needs of our own countrymen.)
Group urges Senate to scrap tax incentives for San Miguel Aerocity’s airport franchise | Manila Bulletin – A group of transport experts and economists called on the Senate to scrap the tax exemption provision under the bill granting San Miguel Aerocity Inc. a franchise to build the New Manila International Airport in Bulacan. In a press briefing led by local think tank Action for Economic Reforms (AER) Thursday, the group urged the Senate to strike down the proposed measure that seeks to grant San Miguel Aerocity exemptions from all national and local taxes for up to 50 years. Engr. Rene Santiago, who has been a consultant for the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in their transportation studies in the country, also emphasized that there is no justification behind granting tax exemptions to San Miguel as it would only “tilt the balance in its favor.” “Let us not open the floodgates for abuses. What (incentives) you give to one private proponent, you have to give to everybody,” he said during the virtual conference. Santiago said that based on current supply and demand conditions, there is no need for the firm to develop the Bulacan airport, adding that it would only be needed if NAIA will be closed.
Comelec comment sought on poll protest | The Manila Times – The Supreme Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), has moved to speed up the pace of the protest filed by Ferdinand Marcos against Vice President Maria Leonor Robredo disputing the results of the 2016 vice presidential elections. In a press briefing, the Supreme Court’s Public Information Office said the PET ordered the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) to submit their comments on the protest, which has been pending before the tribunal for more than four years.
