News Roundup 03 July 2021
Jul 03, 2021 • 4 min Read
Coronavirus deaths in the Philippines cross 25,000 | PHILSTAR.COM – Local health authorities on Saturday reported 5,908 more COVID-19 infections, bringing the national caseload to 1,430,419.
- Active cases: 53,665 or 3.8% of the total
- Recoveries: 7,698, pushing total to 1,351,691
- Recoveries: 7,698, pushing total to 1,351,691
More than 2,000 flee as Taal Volcano spews toxic gas | PHILSTAR.COM – More than 2,000 people have fled from a volcano eruption that has filled the air near the Philippine capital with toxic gas, officials said Saturday. Taal Volcano, which sits in a picturesque lake, has been belching sulphur dioxide for several days, creating a thick haze over Manila and several surrounding provinces, and prompting health warnings. At least 2,400 people have left their homes since the government called for evacuations of hamlets on the lake’s shores, provincial disaster official Joselito Castro told AFP. “We expect more residents to evacuate over the coming days,” he said, adding that they were seeking refuge either in schools closed by the coronavirus pandemic or in the homes of relatives.
Over a week after death, tributes still pour in for Noynoy Aquino | INQUIRER.NET – Over a week after his death, tributes still pour in for former president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino from close allies and once political foes who remember him as the “bravest of the brave.” Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. posted on Twitter an image of his office with a portrait of Aquino portrait adorned with flowers. “Honoring the bravest of the brave,” Locsin, who was a speechwriter and legal counsel of Aquino’s mother former president Corazon Aquino, said Friday. “What else would you call someone who wouldn’t think of let alone consider taking an organ or anything else for from someone to save himself; he just faced the end without flinching, crying or accepting sympathy in the last and therefore losing battle of man and his end,” he added. On Friday, Senator Francis Pangilinan — one of Aquino’s closest allies — posted another video in tribute to the former president, while vowing to continue the programs he had started during his term. Pangilinan then defended Aquino from perceptions that he lazy, or what his critics have dubbed as “noynoying,” adding that the former president was actually meticulous during Cabinet meetings. Pangilinan served as Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization — a Cabinet-level post. “Ang isa sa hindi ko makakalimutan ay yung meeting for NEDA approval on big-ticket projects. Hinanda ko na ang sarili ko. Colleagues in the Cabinet already warned me that PNoy, contrary to the ‘noynoying’ tag, was very meticulous especially when it was about spending people’s money,” the senator said in his Facebook page. “I was one of the first to present. PNoy asked the type of dam to be constructed, whether it ought to be a high dam or a series of cascading dams that would be the more appropriate design, etc. Pero hindi siya kumbinsido sa aking presentation. Thumbed-down ang proposal ko, sabi niya until his questions had been thoroughly clarified,” he added. It came to a point that Pangilinan wanted to resign out of embarrassment, but he observed that Aquino was treating the other Cabinet members the same — requiring high standards for everyone. “Akala ko aprubado na ‘yung project. Feeling ko napahiya ako, at sa harap ng mga kapwa ko Cabinet members. E ‘yung iba pa sa kanila, pinapatawag ko sa Senado nung senador pa ako. Kaya sa isip-isip ko, mag-re-resign na lang ako dahil sa kahihiyan,” Pangilinan noted. “But then as the meeting progressed, I realized that PNoy was equally exacting and demanding of everyone else,” he added.
Trillanes scoffs at Duterte’s response to Pacquiao’s corruption charges | Manila Bulletin – Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV scoffed at President Duterte’s response to Sen. Manny Pacquiao’s allegations of corruption, Duterte ordered concerned government agencies to cooperate in any investigation. Trillanes, a staunch critic of Duterte, recalled his experience when when he dared the President to sign a waiver on his bank accounts to disprove allegations of hidden wealth. “Ang tapang ni Duterte kay Pacquiao, sabi nya mag-cooperate daw lahat sa investigation. Pero nung pinapapirma ko ng waiver para sa P2.2 billion BPI bank accounts nya, napakaraming alibi (Duterte was brave to Pacquiao, he said he will cooperate with all the investigation. But when I asked him to sign the waiver for the P2.2 billion BPI bank accounts, he had many alibis),” he said in a recent Twitter post. In September 2017, Duterte refused to sign a bank secrecy waiver similar to that signed by Trillanes. The Chief Executive argued that signing a waiver would be construed as self-incrimination and tantamount to giving in to the former senator. Trillanes alleged that Duterte has P211 million in one of his bank accounts. Duterte also never released his Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) since 2018, citing the Office of the Ombudsman’s most recent guidelines.
Photo Source: DOST-PHILVOCS
