News Roundup 15 February 2021
Feb 15, 2021 • 5 min Read
COVID-19 infections in Philippines surpass 550,000 | PHILSTAR.COM – The country now has more than 550,000 cases of COVID-19 after health authorities reported 1,685 new infections Monday. To date, 550,860 individuals have had COVID-19 in the Philippines. Of these, 5% or 27,588 are active cases. Recoveries reached 511,755 after 14 more people recuperated from the severe respiratory illness. But deaths due to COVID-19 increased to 11,517, up by two from the previous count.
No need to ‘rescue’ Lumads at school’s retreat house, University of San Carlos says | PHILSTAR.COM – The University of San Carlos in Cebu on Monday said Lumad students whom police said they rescued were staying at the school’s retreat house as guests and were already preparing to go back to their home province in batches. This came after police and social welfare personnel stormed a retreat house in the university’s Talamban campus in what the government says was a “rescue operation.” In a joint statement, Society of the Divine Word Philippines Southern Province and the University of San Carlos said that the delegation of 42 students, five teachers, and three community elders were hosted for a bakwit school program with the Save our Schools Network last year. However, the program was derailed by quarantine restrictions imposed by the Cebu City government due to the coronavirus pandemic. “After being locked down, the SVD Community has since sheltered the delegation at its retreat house, providing them with comfortable accommodation, and allowing them the use of its facilities for the lumad’s recreation,” they said. “It came as a surprise that reports about minors being ‘rescued’ surfaced today. While [Archdiocese of Cebu – Commission on Social Advocacies] members mentioned that some parents were coming over to fetch their children, it did not dawn on us that the parents’ visit will necessitate the presence of policemen.” A live video of the operation, which the PNP also referred to as a raid, posted by the Save Our Schools Network showed children screaming in a classroom as they were forced out by men in uniform. Twenty-one students —15 minors and 6 adults — were taken away in the operation, along with two teachers and two community elders. It is not clear what they were being rescued from, as the teachers did not seem to be armed nor holding them against their will. According to reports, the minors have been turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development. “Here, no rescue need ever be conducted because the presence of the Lumads in the retreat house was for their welfare and well-being, and all throughout, they were nurtured, cared for, and treated with their best interest in mind,” the statement, co-signed by Fr. Rogelio Bag-ao, SVD and Fr. Narciso Cellan Jr., SVD, also said.
P1.64-billion anticommunist fund for Davao City questioned | INQUIRER.NET – An opposition lawmaker on Sunday questioned the P1.64 billion fund allocated to Davao City, the hometown of President Rodrigo Duterte, under the government’s P16.4 billion anticommunist fund. Citing data from the Department of Budget and Management Local Budget Circular No. 135, Bayan Muna Rep. Ferdinand Gaite said the entire Davao region would receive a hefty P4.3 billion, with Davao City getting almost 40 percent of it, from the barangay development program (BDP) of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac). “What’s the basis of this large allocation for Davao City? Was it the heartland of the communist insurgency? It’s hard to believe that there were communist guerrillas in the 82 barangays chosen by the NTF-Elcac,” Gaite said in a statement. “It seems the Duterte camp has started oiling its electoral campaign machinery through the generals’ pork barrel lodged in the NTF-Elcac, and of course their bailiwick Davao, both city and region, gets the lion’s share,” he said. “Bayan Muna will seek a special audit of these funds in due time. These are very large sums of money that we cannot afford to waste on potentially partisan political spending,” he added. Gaite earlier expressed fear that the multibillion-peso funds would be used for the 2022 national elections.
VP moved by PWD workers, gives them aid | Manila Bulletin – Inspired by their will to make the most out of their limited abilities, Vice President Leni Robredo provided financial aid to a group of persons with disabilities (PWDs) who make chairs and tables for a living. Robredo continued with her livelihood assistance program by visiting the group Monday, Feb. 15, in their worksite at the Bigay Buhay Multi-purpose Cooperative in Caloocan City. Streamed live on Facebook, she said the group wrote her office for help so she decided to visit them personally. “They are impressive because they do not let their disabilities affect their livelihood,” the vice president said in Filipino. The building where the workshop is located was a former malaria center during World War II, which Robredo described as a “dilapidated building.” The group sells laminated tables and chairs for use in classrooms. But since they do not have enough welding equipment and they do not even have a laminating machine, they do everything by hand. For the welders who are in wheelchairs, they have to take turns in using the machine. They have a contract with the Department of Education (DepEd) dating back to 1996. Some of the workers showed the vice president the finished products and designs. A total of 78 members, mostly PWDs, work at the BBMC. “Ang galing niyo (You’re good),” Robredo remarked to the workers. The vice president said they will look for donors who can help the workers in their livelihood. “They’re a big inspiration. Even with their disabilities, they are good with what they do. The problem is they don’t have capital. They get paid after they deliver (the products). They cannot find momentum because they do not have resources,” she added.
Photo: A Sinadumparan Ivatan House, Batanes Is., Philippines
Photo Source: By anne_jimenez – Flickr, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3123893
