News Roundup 06 December 2020
Dec 06, 2020 • 4 min Read
PH logs 1,768 more COVID-19 cases; over 9,000 recoveries | INQUIRER.NET – The Department of Health (DOH) on Sunday reported 1,768 additional cases of COVID-19, pushing the country’s caseload to 439,834. In its 4 p.m. case bulletin, the DOH also reported 9,062 more recoveries, bringing the total number of COVID-19 patients who recovered from the disease to 408,634. Meanwhile, the country’s COVID-19 death toll increased to 8,554 after the DOH reported 29 additional fatalities. Of the total number of COVID-19 cases, the DOH said 22,646 are active cases.
Robredo laments ‘brazen’ killing of Los Baños mayor | INQUIRER.NET – Vice President Leni Robredo on Sunday lamented the “brazen” killing of Los Baños, Laguna mayor Caesar Perez, saying that his death, along with the cases of other public officials, should be a cause for concern. In her weekly radio program “BISErbisyong Leni” over DZXL, she noted the spate of killings such as of Tanuan, Batangas Mayor Antonio Halili in 2018, and the shooting of a man inside a hospital in Angono, Rizal in November. “Parang napaka-brazen na (It’s as if they’re brazen already),” Robredo said. “Iyong mayor, ganiyan iyong nangyayari sa kaniya. Parang nano-normalize, nano-normalize iyong patayan (This mayor was simply shot dead. It’s as if the killing are being normalized),” she added. Perez was shot dead by unidentified assailants inside the municipal hall in Los Baños on Thursday. He was earlier included in the national government’s watchlist of government officials allegedly involved in the drug trade, but he had repeatedly denied the claim.
Rights group slams police claims of ‘nanlaban’ and possession of firearms | PHILSTAR.COM – Claims that arrested activists fought back or owned illegal high-powered firearms are shoddy at best and were called into question by a local human rights monitor. “The family and colleagues of Magpantay and Topacio have each and every right to question the ‘nanlaban’ narrative of Sinas and the Philippine National Police, which they used to justify the death of the couple. Magpantay and Topacio were sick and elderly, very much incapacitated to even take care of their own needs, when the police barged in, in the middle of the night, and killed them,” Karapatan secretary-general Cristina Palabay said in a statement. She was referring to the spate of police operations over the past week which led to the deaths of National Democratic Front peace consultants Eugenia Magpantay and Agaton Topacio. Cops claimed they violently resisted arrest when authorities attempted to serve search warrants of their home at three in the morning. “How can they possibly fight back? Sinas’ logic defies reason and logic. They couldn’t even stand or move on their own, and the police still used the tired line that they fought back with guns and explosives,” Palabay also said in mixed Filipino and English.
China mounts consistent patrols in WPS – think-tank | Manila Bulletin – The Chinese government’s maritime patrols in the West Philippine Sea became more frequent even with the raging COVID-19 pandemic, a United States think-tank has reported. A report from the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) released last Friday said that the China Coast Guard (CCG) deployed its vessels in Panatag Shoal and Ayungin Shoal almost daily this year. The AMTI analyzed the Automatic Identification System (AIS) data broadcasted by the CCG vessels which were collected by ship tracker MarineTraffic from Dec. 1, 2019 to Nov. 30, 2020 and found out that one to two vessels have consistently patrolled Panatag Shoal in 287 days out of 366 days. This was a “substantial” increase compared to last year’s 162 days when the COVID-19 pandemic was still not a thing, the report noted. Meanwhile, there was “modest increase” in CCG vessels’ broadcasting in Ayungin Shoal where at least one vessel patrolled the area for 232 days, the report added.
CBCP adjusts ‘Simbang Gabi’ schedules | The Manila Times – The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has released guidelines for Churches to observe during the celebration of Simbang Gabi or pre-dawn Masses in accordance with existing health protocols required by the national and local government units (LGUs). “The celebration of Christmas may be different this year. We will not have the same frenzy and stressful preparations that we had before the pandemic. But we pray and help our faithful to see the heart and the essence of the season in the simple, sober, silent but the strong and loving truth of the God who comes to us in Jesus’ incarnation,” said Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles, CBCP president, in his directive on the celebration of these Masses. Dated November 27 but released on December 2, the guidelines strongly emphasize the observance of social distancing and other basic safety protocols to help stem the spread of virus.
