News Roundup 07 October 2020
Oct 07, 2020 • 4 min Read
COVID-19 cases in Philippines hit 329,637 with 2,825 new infections |PHILSTAR.COM – The Department of Health reported 2,825 additional coronavirus cases Wednesday, raising to 329,637 the total confirmed COVID-19 infections in the country. The Philippines has been recording fewer than 3,000 cases daily in the last weeks except for September 28 and October 4. The DOH also recorded 437 additional recovered patients, bringing to 273,723 the recovery count. Meanwhile, there were 60 new coronavirus-related deaths, of which 26 were from this month, while 20 from September. The country’s death toll now stands at 5,925.
Citing results of recount, SC asked to junk Marcos protest vs Robredo | PHILSTAR.COM – Akbayan Citizen’s Action Party and various youth groups asked the Supreme Court, sitting as Presidential Electoral Tribunal, to junk the election protest of former Sen. Bongbong Marcos against Vice President Leni Robredo. In a letter to the tribunal, the groups said that based on the rules of PET, “this case is already ripe for a decision.” “We believe there’s no more reason for the PET to keep this protest going,” the groups added. The tribunal last week ordered the Commission on Elections and the Office of the Solicitor General to comment on pending issues related to the poll protest. In particular, on issues involving the annulment of elections in the provinces of Lanao del Sur, Basilan and Maguindanao on the ground of terrorism, intimidation, harassment of voters and pre-shading of ballots. But the groups noted that PET rules state that substantial recovery must be made in the recount of the three pilot provinces — Iloilo, Camarines Sur and Negros Oriental — for Marcos’ protest to prosper. Marcos however failed, the groups said as they noted that the recount showed that Robredo’s lead widened by 15,093 votes. PET said in the October 2019 resolution: “After the revision and appreciation, the lead of protestee Robredo increased from 263,473 to 278,566.”
Robredo appeals to business owners: Keep workers to avoid economic slump | INQUIRER.NET – Vice President Leni Robredo on Wednesday asked business owners to keep their employees so the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the economy will not worsen. Speaking before the online Philippine Business Conference and Expo 2020, Robredo stressed the need to reach out to as many people as possible not only to keep the economy afloat but to help families cope with the health crisis. “When MSME’s [micro, small and medium enterprises] fold, the jobs go with them. And when wages stop, families go to sleep fearful of where they will get the next meal. Anxiety builds up, both because of the threat of infection and the difficulty in meeting basic needs,” Robredo said. “I say this to drive home the point: We operate under a single economic ecosystem, and when the most vulnerable among us suffer, everyone suffers…For one, let us do the best we can to keep our staff employed,” she added.
Bishops, religious urge PET to dismiss Marcos protest vs. Robredo | Manila Bulletin – The Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines (AMRSP) and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines- Episcopal Commission on Lay Apostolate (CBCP-ECLA LAIKO) on Wednesday appealed to the Supreme Court to dismiss with finality the election protest of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. against Vice President Leni Robredo. “The AMRSP and the CBCP-ECLA LAIKO jointly appeals and strongly urges the Supreme Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), to justly and decisively dismiss with finality the election protests of Mr. Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. against Vice President Leni Robredo,” they said in a joint statement. The AMRSP and CBCP ECLA encouraged the country’s highest magistrates to “model true fairness and pronounce courageously the rule of justice even in the midst of tremendous pressures from powers that be.” “We look up to Your Honors and continue to hope that Truth, Justice and Accountability will guide your decisions,” read the statement.
Villafuerte got P11.7-B infra budget – lawmaker | The Manila Times – Probinsyano Ako party-list Rep. Jose “Bonito” Singson Jr. confirmed reports on the “inequitable” district allocations for infrastructure, saying that allies of House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano got bigger shares. Singson claimed that Camarines Sur Second District Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte was allotted a bigger share from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) funds for his district since he became deputy speaker. “From only P1.43 billion in 2019, the DPWH funds allotted to CamSur’s second district ballooned to P6.76 billion or an increase of 473 percent in 2020,” Singson said in a statement on Tuesday.
