News Roundup 16 January 2021
Jan 16, 2021 • 3 min Read
COVID-19 cases in the Philippines surpass 498,000 | PHILSTAR.COM – The Department of Health reported Saturday 2,058 new COVID-19 infections, pushing the total number of cases to 498,691. Of these, 28,674 or 5.7% of the total are active cases, the DOH said. The DOH also reported eight new fatalities, bringing the death toll to 9,884. According to the DOH, 406 more recovered, bringing the total number of COVID-19 survivors to 460,133.
6 die as Philippine air force chopper crashes in Bukidnon | PHILSTAR.COM – Three Air Force personnel and three Army servicemen perished in a helicopter crash at Impasugong town in Bukidnon at past 2:00 p.m. Saturday, key military sources said. The UH-1H Air Force helicopter was on a resupply mission for the Army’s 403rd Brigade in Malaybalay, Bukidnon when its engine malfunctioned, causing the crash. An Air Force pilot, co-pilot and a crew member and three soldiers were confirmed to have died in the crash, according to sources from the Army’s 4th Infantry Division and the Bukidnon provincial police office. Soldiers have secured the crash site while another military team is searching for a seventh passenger of the ill-fated helicopter who was reported missing.
No delaying tactics on anti-terror law oral arguments — DOJ | INQUIRER.NET – The Department of Justice on Saturday denied that the government is using “delaying tactics” on the Supreme Court’s oral arguments on the petitions questioning the legality of the controversial Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020. “I don’t think so. We’re just talking about a few days here, not weeks or months,” Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said in a message to reporters when asked if there is a deliberate move to delay the oral arguments which were reset to Feb. 2. Guevarra added that the postponement of the oral arguments will also give “more time for everyone to prepare.” The High Court earlier approved the request of Solicitor General Jose Calida to reschedule the oral arguments on the anti-terror law petitions. Calida requested the resetting of the oral arguments, saying that his assistant solicitor-general and some staffers who would attend the debate have tested positive for Covid-19. In a separate statement, Lawyer Howard Calleja, one of the first petitioners against the anti-terror law, hoped the oral arguments will finally start on Feb. 2. “However, we hope that the oral arguments and the case as a whole should proceed accordingly therefore the resetting to Feb. 2 should be honored and we look forward to finally present our case to the court come Feb. 2 and pray for a positive and speedy disposition on this case and uphold the Constitution and our rule of law,” he said, adding that he respects the High Court’s decision.
Developed vaccines proves science crucial in battle vs COVID, says DoST Undersecretary | Manila Bulletin – The recent development of vaccines is proof of science’s crucial role in the fight against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), an official of the Department of Science and Technology said. DOST Undersecretary for Research and Development Rowena Cristina Guevara, chair of the Task Group on Vaccine Evaluation and Selection, made the statement following the issuance of an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). “Having a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine ready for deployment to the Filipino people at a time where no available treatment has yet been developed provides us a long-term solution and a higher chance of successfully defeating the virus,” she said. “This milestone is another proof that science, despite the challenge of compressing to compress into months a process that usually takes a decade or more to complete, is pivotal in the fight against an unprecedented public health emergency which has already claimed millions of lives globally and is still affecting millions more in so many aspects worldwide, including the Philippines,” she added. Under the EUA, the FDA may allow the use of unapproved medical products in an emergency situation to treat or prevent life-threatening diseases when certain statutory criteria have been met.
