News Roundup 23 May 2021
May 23, 2021 • 5 min Read
3,083 new COVID-19 cases seen but low number due to system updates | PHILSTAR.COM – The Department of Health on Sunday said 3,083 more Filipinos contracted the COVID-19, but attributed the relatively low number due to updates in its system. Authorities said some case data were not included in its COVIDKaya platform and in today’s bulletin. They added that a team is now looking into it to address the issue. The country’s overall count is now at 1,179,812. The development saw active cases down by 3,691 from May 22’s 54,326. DOH said too that three laboratories did not turn in screening results.
- Active cases: 50,635 or 4.3% of the total
- Recoveries: 6,756, bringing the number to 1,109,226
- Deaths: 38, or now 19,951 in total
‘Most promises remain unfulfilled’: Gov’t pressed on Marawi rebuilding, 4 years since siege | PHILSTAR.COM – A network of groups from Mindanao has pressed the government to fast-track the rebuilding of Marawi City, as it said many who were displaced by the Maute siege four years ago have yet to return home despite promises. The battle between state forces and the Islamic State-inspired group stretched for four months in 2017. In its wake were 370,000 forced out of their homes, and a cost of damage at P11.5 billion. In a joint statement, members of the Marawi Advocacy Accompaniment urged the Duterte administration to prioritize the return of internally displaced persons to their communities and compensate victims. “Four years after the siege, most of the promises…remain unfulfilled,” MAA said in a May 22 statement. “President Rodrigo Duterte’s promise saying that Marawi will rise as a prosperous city again remains invisible and cannot be felt on the ground.” Last year, the president said reconstruction there has not been easy and cited the clearing of lands from explosives and settling titles as prolonging the efforts. He was responding to a watchdog which flagged the rebuilding as slow and lacking in funds. A task force official has told the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism on how the pandemic posed a significant impact on the progress there. “We had to stop construction activities,” said Asec. Felix Castro Jr. as quoted by PCIJ in its report. “When we resumed the projects, many workers did not come back so we had to look for new people.” While buildings, roads and utilities have risen in the war-torn city, many residents have yet to secure building permits while others simply had no money, PCIJ also noted. The MAA sought from the national government and the task force to make public all information on the status of reconstruction, as well as on public spending and other attendant issues. It added that persons displaced from Marawi remain in temporary shelters, making them more vulnerable to the threat of COVID-19. “This multiple-displacement aggravated by the government’s slow rehabilitation and reconstruction program has deprived the bakwits of much-needed opportunities for economic survival amid pandemic period,” MAA said.
Robredo pushes for inclusion of other countries in settling WPS row | INQUIRER.NET – Vice President Leni Robredo on Sunday pushed for the conduct of “multilateral talks” to settle the West Philippine Sea row as opposed to the holding of bilateral talks between China and the Philippines. Speaking in her weekly radio program, Robredo noted that the idea of having multilateral talks is being pushed by experts, noting that having bilateral talks with China will put the Philippines at a disadvantage. “Kapag bilateral kasi, parang nagnenegotiate ka sa isang inferior na posisyon dahil maliit ka,” Robredo said in DZXL radio. “Kaya ang pinupush sana natin, multilateral talks.” (When we engage in bilateral talks, it is like we are negotiating from an inferior position because we are small. That’s why I am pushing for multilateral talks.) “Pag sinabing multilateral talks, hindi lang Pilipinas saka China iyong mag-uusap pero Pilipinas, China, saka iba pang mga bansa na nagsheshare ng ating isyu o pareho iyong concern sa atin,” she explained. (When we say multilateral talks, it’s not only the Philippines and China who will be talking but other countries who share the concerns and issues will have to be included as well.)
Robredo backs retired military officers’ push for united stand against China | Manila Bulletin – Vice President Leni Robredo on Sunday, May 23, backed the call of retired military officers for a united stand against China’s increasing aggression in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), stressing the importance for the country to have “one voice” in the maritime disputes. Robredo said that it’s not helpful for the Philippines’ position for its officials to have contradictory statements on the territorial issues with China. “Sa akin, may basehan kasi iyong pag-express ng pagkabahala. Actually, hindi lang si Senator Biazon—Cong. Biazon—iyong nag-express nito, pero mahalaga kasi na isang boses sana tayo, (For me, there’s a basis to express concern. Actually, it’s not just Senator Biazon—Congressman Biazon—who expressed about this, but more importantly, we need to have one voice only),” she said during her weekly radio show. The vice president warned that the country has to be careful on its stand against China, especially because sovereignty and territorial dispute are “very sensitive” issues. “Hindi ito puwedeng basta-basta lang ang sasabihin. Kailangan calculated, kailangan sisiguraduhin natin na iyong sinasabi natin, hindi tayo malalagay sa alanganin (The statement cannot be taken lightly. It needs to be calculated, we need to be sure that what we’re going to say, we won’t be put in an awkward situation),” she added. Last week, retired Lieutenant General Edilberto Adan, who served under former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and now heads the Advocates for National Interest (ANI), a group of former police and military officers, called on the President to “have a firm stand” in defending the Philippines sovereignty and sovereign rights in the WPS. He said during an interview on ANC that the group is requesting President Duterte “to retract some of his statements which do not conform with our national interest.”
