News Roundup 26 February 2021
Feb 26, 2021 • 3 min Read
Philippines reports 2,651 new COVID-19 cases, highest in over 4 months | PHILSTAR.COM – Individuals infected with COVID-19 in the Philippines reached 571,327 after the Department of Health reported 2,651 more cases Friday, the biggest single day rise in more than four months. Latest data from the DOH showed that the number of active cases in the country stands at 34,498 or 6% of the total. The agency also logged 561 additional recoveries, pushing the total number of COVID-19 survivors in the country to 524,582. The death toll, however, rose to 12,247 after 46 more people succumbed to the coronavirus disease.
Robredo on people power: Democracy under constant threat | PHILSTAR.COM – Vice President Leni Robredo urged Filipinos yesterday to unite and work together amid constant threats to democracy which the country fought for in 1986. “Today, we renew our faith in this fundamental truth of EDSA: that our people, standing united, can never be defeated,” Robredo said as the nation marked the 35th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution. “We affirm this truth, even as we acknowledge that the promise of EDSA has not yet been completely fulfilled,” she said. Robredo noted efforts to revise history for the personal agenda of a powerful few, stressing that the country is still in the process of “forging the nation we dreamt of, and fought for, on EDSA.” She said the challenge is to “find within ourselves that strength, that faith, that fire to continue the work that remains to be done. And in doing so, we must find a way to walk forward together.” The biggest lesson of people power, she said, is the same thing that the country needs to address the pandemic and the current situation: unity. “And because we are united in this cause, I am confident that we can achieve even our highest aspirations,” she added.
Senate reso commends Vico Sotto after US gov’t hails him ‘anti-corrupt champ’ INQUIRER.NET – Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Senator Panfilo Lacson have filed a resolution commending Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto for being recognized by the U.S. State Department as one of its “anti-corruption champions.” In filing Senate Resolution No. 660, Sotto and Lacson extolled the young mayor for his “outstanding leadership” in Pasig City and the competent management of his town’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. “Mayor Vico Sotto’s feats have brought pride to our country. He has set the bar high for the future leaders of our nation,” the two senators said. “Mayor Sotto’s leadership has brought hope to our people amid the economic gloom and political confusion caused by the COVID-19 health crisis,” they added. In naming Sotto as one of its 12 International Anti-corruption Champions, the U.S. State Department described the mayor as a “standard-bearer for a new generation of Philippine politicians who prioritize anti-corruption and transparency initiatives in their election campaigns and in office.”
NBI assures impartiality in probing PNP-PDEA Feb. 24 ‘misencounter’ | Manila Bulletin – The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) assured its impartiality in the probe on the “misencounter” Wednesday night, Feb. 24, in Quezon City between the operatives of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) after the bureau’s designation by President Duterte as the sole agency to conduct the investigation. “We will stand to the challenge as we always do,” said NBI Deputy Director Ferdinand M. Lavin on Friday night, Feb. 26. “There is no question that with NBI Director Eric Distor at the helm of the Bureau, we will be able to do an impartial investigation into the incident,” Lavin said. Lavin said the office of the NBI’s National Capital Region (NBI-NCR) will conduct the investigation with the support of the other divisions of the agency.
Photo: Plaza Salcedo, Vigan Ilocos Sur, Philippines
Photo Source: By Jesstine Co – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61493550
