News Roundup 13 March 2021
Mar 13, 2021 • 4 min Read
With 5,000 new COVID-19 cases, Philippines logs highest daily rise since August last year | PHILSTAR.COM – The Philippines on Saturday recorded 5,000 additional COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections to 616,611.
Active cases: 55,679 or 9.2% of the total
Recoveries: 281, pushing the total to 547,166
Deaths: 72, bringing the total to 12,776
Palawan votes in historic plebiscite seen as test for elections during pandemic | PHILSTAR.COM – Residents of Palawan trooped Saturday to polling precincts to vote in a historic plebiscite seen as a test for elections in the Philippines during the pandemic. It would determine whether Palawan would be split into three provinces, as proposed under Republic Act No. 11259. Voting in the plebiscite was done manually, with voters writing yes or oo if they agree with the proposal, or no or hindi if they reject it. “This is a sort of laboratory for us on how we will conduct the national and local elections this coming 2022,” elections commissioner Antonio Kho Jr. told ANC. Voters were required to wear masks and were subjected to temperature and symptom checks. Those whose temperatures were above 37.5 degrees Celsius or show symptoms of COVID-19 voted in isolated polling precincts, where election staff wore full-body personal protective equipment. In a preliminary statement issued two hours before polls closed, election watchdog National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) said that COVID-19 protocols were generally followed, save for a few violations. “Perhaps due to inclement weather in some municipalities, there were instances when physical distancing in the queues was not observed due to the downpour at the start of voting,” Namfrel said. Namfrel observed that in one voting center in Bataraza town, the wearing of masks and face shields was not being strictly enforced, while medical personnel were absent in a voting center in Aborlan town.The election watchdog also flagged reports of vote buying, including one witnessed by their observer in Brooke’s Point town, where envelopes containing P200 were supposedly distributed in exchange for people to vote a certain way in the plebiscite. Namfrel did not disclose whether this was for a yes or no vote. Namfrel also noted that there was some confusion in voting precincts but attributed this to the Commission on Elections’ efforts to limit the number of people in one polling place.
Where to see, hear Pope Francis’ Mass for 500 years of Christianity in PH | INQUIRER.NET – Filipino Catholics can see and hear the Holy Mass to be presided by Pope Francis in celebration of the 500th year of Christianity in the Philippines via various online platforms and cable TV channels on Sunday. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, only a limited number of people will be allowed to physically attend the Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City at 10 a.m. (5 p.m. in Manila) on Sunday, March 14. The Mass will also be aired at 10 a.m. in Rome, 12 noon in Qatar, 1a.m. in the US West Coast and 5a.m. in the Us East Coast. The eucharistic celebration will be streamed live from the Vatican to reach millions of Filipinos in different parts of the world, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said. Filipinos can see and hear the Mass which will be live streamed on the TV Facebook page, as well as the following cable channels:
Sky Cable Channel 210 (TV Maria)
SatLite Channel 102
Destiny Cable Channel 96
Cablelink Channel 18
CIGNAL Channel 188
ABS CBN TV Plus Channel 29
GMA Affordabox Channel 21
Pope Francis will also be joined by Luis Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, and Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, the pope’s vicar of Rome, in the eucharistic celebration.
Senators call out Sinas for hitting ‘Strike 2’ in health protocol breach | Manila Bulletin – Senators were again not amused with Philippine National Police (PNP) chief General Debold Sinas’ reported skipping of health screening in Oriental Mindoro before learning that he was positive for COVID-19. “May violation ‘yon. Kung ‘yong mga mayor nga saka mga senador saka ‘yong Senate President ‘pag nagpupunta sa isang lugar na kailangan dumaan sa triage o doon sa protocols. Sumusunod lahat eh (There is a violation there. Even mayors and senators as well as the Senate President go to triage and are subject to the protocols when they visit an area. Everyone follows),” Senate President Vicente Sotto III said in an interview with radio DWIZ on Saturday, March 13. “Anong meron ang PNP chief na hindi siya susunod sa protocol (What does the PNP chief have that he does not follow protocols)?” he added. Sinas, who announced getting infected with the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) last Thursday, March 11, is again under fire after the Oriental Mindoro government disclosed that he did not undergo the health clearances when he visited the province on the same day. The PNP chief went straight to regional headquarters instead, the provincial government in a statement on Friday.
Photo: Ambuklao Dam, Bokod, Benguet, Philippines
Photo Source: By Watersanitationandsupply – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44947608
