News Roundup 20 January 2021
Jan 20, 2021 • 4 min Read
COVID-19 death toll in Philippines passes 10,000 | PHILSTAR.COM – Nearly a year since authorities confirmed the first known case, more than 10,000 people who had the coronavirus disease have died in the Philippines, the Department of Health reported Wednesday. Sixty-four new deaths were logged, raising the fatality count to 10,042. These include 57 deaths that happened in January, six in December and one in October. Meanwhile, 1,862 more people got infected, bringing the country’s caseload to 505,939. Eight seven percent of the additional cases occurred within the last two weeks. The department also announced 765 more patients recovered from COVID-19, taking total recoveries to 466,993. Active cases or the people undergoing quarantine or treatment accounted for 28,904 or 5.7% of the total infected.
Ateneo dean: DND ending pact with UP ‘sends wrong signal’ even to other academic institutions | PHILSTAR.COM – The Department of National Defense’s unilateral termination of its pact with the University of the Philippines to keep state forces out of campus without warning sends a “wrong signal” even to academic institutions, the Ateneo School of Government (ASOG) said. Taken in the context of red-tagging and human rights violations, the DND’s abrogation “sends the wrong signal not just to UP but also to all academic institutions in the country that provide safe spaces for independent academic thought and freedom,” said ASOG Dean Ronald Mendoza in a statement. Mendoza added that as educators, they bear the responsibility to protect students while giving them safe space for debate and dissent. “With or without an accord, it is our responsibility to work with the national security sector to make sure our academic institutions provide this safe space,” he added. In justifying the unilateral termination, the defense chief had again used unsubstantiated accusations that there is an “ongoing clandestine recruitment” inside UP campuses and the deal is being used to bar the government from holding operations in the schools. But DND’s action is largely seen as a move to further shrink spaces for activists and dissent, especially as the UP campuses have served as a safe space for protests even amid a pandemic.
Robredo ready to receive COVID-19 vaccine in public – spokesman | INQUIRER.NET – Vice President Leni Robredo has already declared that she’s willing to be vaccinated before the public to encourage Filipinos to get immunized against Covid-19. Her spokesman, Atty. Barry Gutierrez, reiterated this Wednesday in an apparent response to the challenge of long-time Duterte aide-turned-senator, Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go. “As early as the first week of December, VP Leni already declared her willingness to receive the vaccine in public to encourage all Filipinos to get vaccinated,” Gutierrez said in a statement. In Robredo’s view, the government should prioritize ensuring a “safe, effective, and affordable” Covid-19 vaccine for “as many Filipinos as possible,” according to Gutierrez. “She is more than ready to do her part in attaining these goals,” he said.
Roque loses cool on TV interview over prof’s challenge to UP grads in Cabinet | Manila Bulletin – Presidential spokesman Harry Roque blew his top when asked if he will take on the challenge posed by journalist and University of the Philippines (UP) professor Danny Arao on members of President Duterte’s Cabinet to denounce the unilateral abrogation of the accord between the university and the Department of National Defense (DND). In an interview with CNN Philippines Wednesday morning, Roque called out “The Source” anchor Pinky Webb who read Arao’s tweet and asked Roque, a UP alumnus, if he will take on the challenge to denounce the DND’s decision. In response, Roque initially said that the DND and the UP should sit down and talk about why was there a need to terminate a 30-year-old accord at this time. He likewise explained that he can’t give a personal answer since he is the presidential spokesman. “I’m also [the] presidential spokesperson. There’s really no such thing when you are a presidential spokesperson,” he said. “It doesn’t [make me silent about the issue] and I’m not duty-bound to follow anything that Professor Arao says,” he added. However, after the commercial break and just as Webb was about to move to another topic, Roque went back to the question about Arao’s challenge and said it was unfair. “The question on Arao was unfair. In the first place, why am I duty-bound to follow anything that Professor Arao says? You made it appear as if it’s compulsory for me to follow him. I spent more time in UP than him,” he said. As Webb was explaining her side, saying she did not mean to make it appear that Roque was required to respond to Arao, Roque refused to hear the news anchor’s explanation.
