News Roundup 10 April 2021
Apr 10, 2021 • 4 min Read
Philippines logs 190,245 active COVID-19 cases, breaking records for 3rd day in a row | PHILSTAR.COM – The Philippines on Saturday recorded 12,674 additional COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections to 853,209.
- Active cases: 190,245 or 22.3% of the total
- Recoveries: 593, pushing total to 648,220
- Deaths: 225, bringing total to 14,744
OCTA Research recommends week-long ECQ extension | PHILSTAR.COM – An independent research group on Friday night recommended that Metro Manila and nearby areas stay under enhanced community quarantine for another week, hours after the Philippines recorded a record-breaking number of new deaths and active cases of COVID-19. While noting some improvement from late March, OCTA Research Team fellow Guido David warned that if infections continue to rise by around 10,000 per day, the Philippines will also record some 200 new deaths daily. “Of course, if public health [and] hospitals are our primary consideration, our recommendation is to extend the ECQ so that we can lower the reproduction to less than 1,” David told ABS-CBN News’ “Teleradyo.” “If we can’t do that, the middle ground would be a [modified ECQ] , a more gradual easing [of restrictions],” he added. David said that while the virus reproduction rate is slowing down in the NCR Plus bubble, going down from 1.43 to 1.24 on Wednesday, a week-long extension of ECQ would bring down the number of infections.
Red-tagging spreads to judiciary, Senate staff | INQUIRER.NET – The employees’ unions in the Senate and the judiciary on Friday strongly rejected accusations by two government officials that they were communist front organizations spying for the rebel movement, saying such allegations had put the lives of their leaders and members in danger. “[We] urge our senators to demand both National Intelligence Coordinating Agency Director General Alex Paul Monteagudo and Communications Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy an apology for putting the institution in indignity and our leaders’ security in peril based on purely unfounded allegations,” Senado, the Senate employees union, said in a statement. Monteagudo, in a Facebook post on Monday, said Senado was manned by the activist group Courage and acted as the “eyes and ears” of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), and the Marxist umbrella, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), “to hijack government plans and programs.” Courage is the Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees, the biggest alliance of labor unions in the government. At a Zoom briefing with Senate reporters, Senado president Rosel Eugenio said their members’ lives and security were jeopardized by the “malicious, baseless and dangerous accusations” that the union was a communist front. He was referring to the many activists who had been violently attacked, arrested or killed after they were red-baited, or tagged as communist rebels or supporters. Senado said the accusations “ridicule the security measures that we are implementing in the Senate by claiming that the CPP-NPA-NDFP has infiltrated the institution.” “It is an affront to the Senators and officials of the Senate administration in implementing security inside the institution,” Senado said. “Red-tagging is dangerous. It puts the lives, security and liberty of the target organizations and individuals in jeopardy,” it added. In a joint statement on Friday, the Judiciary Employees Association and the Supreme Court Employees Association joined Senado’s call to pass a law criminalizing Red-tagging after they were also linked by Badoy to the CPP because it was affiliated with Courage. “We are unionists, not terrorists!” the court unions said. “As court employees, we have taken our oath to adhere to our Constitution and the rule of law.” “Likewise, we do not pursue to overthrow the government, but rather give suggestions and find solutions to the concerns of the employees on the issues affecting our jobs, salaries, benefits, working conditions and democratic rights,” they said.
Robredo denies house surrounded by military, shows ‘proof of life’ | Manila Bulletin – Vice President Leni Robredo denied rumors that her house was surrounded by the military as she explained that she was heading the distribution of coronavirus (COVID-19) kits to patients who are doing home isolation. In a Facebook post, Robredo said her daughter Aika took a photo of her inspecting the kits because some of her friends were asking for “proof of life.” “Aika took my picture which she said she’ll send to some friends as proof of life. Haha,” she said Friday evening April 9. “Apparently, some of her friends are asking if it is true that I am being secured now and our house is being [surrounded] by the military. Meron palang ganun?? Hindi po totoo. Andito po ako nagtratrabaho (I didn’t know there were rumors like that. That’s not true. I’m here working),” she added. On Wednesday, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) launched the Bayanihan E-Konsulta, a free teleconsultation service on Facebook that aims to help outpatient cases in the National Capital Region-plus (NCR-plus) bubble. According to Robredo, most of their patients were COVID-19 patients who were doing home isolation. She said they were relieved that they got to talk to a medical doctor however, the patients did not have the necessary thermometers and oximeters to check their temperature and oxygen levels. Robredo said they sent the necessary tools along with medicine and some supplies inside a COVID-19 kit to patients who needed them.
