News Roundup 03 November 2020
Nov 03, 2020 • 4 min Read
1,772 new cases push Philippines’ COVID-19 tally to 387,161 | PHILSTAR.COM – The Department of Health recorded 1,772 new coronavirus infections Tuesday, pushing the country’s caseload to 387,161. The department also reported 49 new deaths due to COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 7,318. Meanwhile, recoveries are up by 153, raising the total number of recovered patients to 348,967.
SC sets preliminary conference on anti-terror law pleas, no date yet for debates | PHILSTAR.COM – The Supreme Court has set the 37 petitions challenging the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 for preliminary conference on November 26, its Public Information Office said Tuesday. A preliminary conference hearing would allow parties to narrow down the conflict or issues for speedier disposition of the case. The SC PIO however said that the court has yet to determine the date for the oral arguments. Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta earlier said they cannot proceed with the oral arguments if the justices have not determined issues they will discuss. The first petition against the law was filed barely 24 hours after President Rodrigo Duterte signed the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020. In August, the SC said they will hold oral arguments on the petitions at the earliest by end of September but no date has been announced yet. In a press conference on October 23, Peralta said that the justice in-charge of the case agreed to come up with common issues raised in the 37 pending petitions against Republic Act 11479. After this has been submitted, they can set the preliminary conference, Peralta added.
ABS-CBN News, ANC 24/7 back on YouTube after ‘hacking incident’ | INQUIRER.NET – A “hacking incident” apparently led to the “termination” of the ABS-CBN News and ANC 24/7 channels on YouTube on Tuesday morning. ABS-CBN said two news channels were restored hours after they were “terminated” due to supposed violation of YouTube’s terms and service. The media giant, however, did not disclose further details regarding the hacking incident. “The two news channels were temporarily suspended beginning 6:30 am this morning after a hacking incident. The investigation on the incident continues as we also implement measures to prevent this from happening again,” ABS-CBN said in a statement. On Tuesday morning, netizens questioned the shutdown and sought an explanation from YouTube. “We rely on ABS-CBN News on Youtube and other social media sites for weather reports, especially now that another Typhoon is approaching And now they turned down the account. Okay, Filipinos, we are on our own now. Keep safe and let’s double our efforts to be informed in everything,” one netizen said. “YouTube should explain why ABS-CBN has been taken down. What was the violation as indicated in the page?” another netizen said.
PAGASA weather radar among ‘Rolly’ casualties in Catanduanes | Manila Bulletin – Super typhoon Rolly’s vicious winds destroyed the country’s Doppler radar located in Bato, Catanduanes when it first made landfall there on Nov. 1. Dr. Landrico Dalida Jr., Deputy Administrator for Operations and Services of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), said the radome or dome that protected the Virac Doppler radar antenna and equipment was blown off by Rolly’s more than 200-kilometer per hour (kph) winds. The strong winds of the super typhoon was just too much for the radar that was supposed to withstand up to 250 kph of winds, Dalida said in a phone interview. “The dome is a protective covering of radar equipment, antenna, and wiring that gives off signal for information. Without the dome, water can penetrate the radar’s other component, equipment, and wires,” he said in Filipno. “We are hoping it was not totally damaged.”
Activists frown on Senate hearing on red-tagging | INQUIRER.NET – Several activist groups have cried foul over the Senate’s hearing about the recent red-tagging incidents, as they believe it has become an avenue for government forces to allegedly spread lies regarding their communist witch hunt. According to rights group Karapatan — one of the groups often tagged as legal fronts of the Communist Party of the Philippines, New People’s Army, and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (CPP-NPA-NDFP) — the Senate hearing on Tuesday became a roadshow for the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC). Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay claimed that no new evidence to prove activists’ links, especially that of Makabayan bloc’s supposed ties to the CPP-NPA-NDFP, was presented during the hearing. “Except for the insightful and independent interventions of Senators Risa Hontiveros, Francis Pangilinan, and Grace Poe, as well as the statement of Makabayan legal counsel Maneeka Sarza, the rest of the hearing reeks of malicious accusations and unfounded statements already debunked by court rulings, including the recent decisions of the Supreme Court and Department of Justice on the baseless cases driven by the NTF-ELCAC,” Palabay stressed. “This hearing has become a big echo chamber of sorts for these bloodthirsty militarists and their rabid lies,” she added.
