News Roundup 13 February 2021
Feb 13, 2021 • 3 min Read
Coronavirus cases in the Philippines hit 547,255 with 1,960 new infections | PHILSTAR.COM – The Department of Health on Saturday said 1,960 more people contracted COVID-19 in the Philippines, bringing the national caseload to 547,255. Of the total number of cases, 34,967 or 6.4% are marked by DOH as active or as still undergoing treatment. Recoveries rose to 500,781 after another 133 people were reported to have beat the virus. But the death toll hit 11,507 after another 12 patients succumbed to the disease.
‘Mukhang pera’: Not all Filipinos are extortionists, US told, after Duterte solicits fee for VFA | PHILSTAR.COM – Sen. Panfilo Lacson on Saturday expressed embarrassment at recent comments made by President Rodrigo Duterte who told the US that it must pay to keep its Visiting Forces Agreement with the Philippines. “Just to clarify, please be informed that we are not a nation of extortionists; at lalong hindi kami ‘mukhang pera’ (and we are definitely not greedy),” Lacson said on Twitter in a note addressed to the US who he referred to as “Sam.” “Well….not all of us,” he tacked on in Filipino, signing off “shamefully” as “Juan.” The country expressed its intent to terminate the VFA in February 2020, after the cancellation of Sen. Ronald dela Rosa’s US visa earned Duterte’s ire, but has suspended the abrogation twice, also at Duterte’s instruction. In a rambling speech delivered Friday night to troops at Clark Air Base in Pampanga, Duterte repeated a threat he’s made since the beginning of his term, saying: “I would like to put on notice if there’s an American agent here, that from now on, you want the Visiting Forces Agreement done? Well, they have to pay.” “Because after all, when the war breaks out, we all pay. You, kami (us), we are nearest to the garrison there where there are a lot of arsenals of the Chinese armed forces.”
Lawmakers worried: Still no vaccine supply agreements | INQUIRER.NET – Senators were distressed that no supply contract for the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines has been signed so far due to snail-paced government negotiations with drug manufacturers, while Congress leaders pushed a bill to allow local governments to make advance payments for shots beyond the spending limits set by the procurement law. Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Friday said the absence of a completed supply agreement months after vaccines became available was “a cause of concern” that explained why Filipinos were unhappy with their government’s COVID-19 response as shown in a recent survey among Southeast Asians. “Our vaccine procurement strategy deserves a second look,” he told the Inquirer. Sen. Risa Hontiveros said the situation was “incredibly distressing, and it is creating public confusion and anxiety.” “When will the vaccination program truly start? Other countries have rolled out their vaccination program, and they have inoculated millions, but we are still in the middle of negotiations for a final supply agreement,” she told the Inquirer. During a Senate hearing on Thursday, Carlito Galvez Jr., the chief implementer of the COVID-19 task force and head of the national vaccination program, disclosed that no supply agreement had been sealed between the Philippines and any of the vaccine manufacturers.
Montalban pedicab drivers get surprise visit from VP Leni | Manila Bulletin – Female padyak (pedicab) drivers could not help but cry when Vice President Leni Robredo surprised them with a visit in Rodriguez town, which is also known as Montalban in Rizal province. Robredo met seven pedicab drivers of the Lakas ng Kababaihan (LNK) —Montalban so she could personally turn over her office’s livelihood aid to them. She held a surprise meeting with the group of women on February 2, but her office only shared a video on her official Facebook page on Saturday, Feb. 13. The three-minute video featured Robredo talking to the women, who shared their inspiring stories of supporting their families through sheer hard work and perseverance. “Bakit ka umiiyak (Why are you crying)?,” the vice president asked. One of the female drivers responded: “Masaya lang kami, ma’am, na nakita ka naman ulit (We are only happy, ma’am, that we you see again).” The seven represented the 72 members of LNK-Montalban in line with social distancing measures.
