News Roundup 04 July 2021
Jul 04, 2021 • 4 min Read
Philippines sees 5,966 more COVID-19 cases | PHILSTAR.COM – Health authorities on Sunday logged 5,966 new coronavirus cases, pushing the total to 1,436,369. Today’s development saw active cases down by 957 from July 3’s 53,665. The Department of Health said one laboratory did not turn in testing results.
- Active cases: 52,708 or 3.7% of the total
- Recoveries: 6,987, bringing the number to 1,358,512
- Deaths: 86, or now 25,149 in total
17 killed after Air Force plane crashes in Sulu | PHILSTAR.COM – At least 17 people were killed and 40 injured when a Philippine military aircraft carrying troops crashed after missing the runway in the country’s south, officials said. Ninety-two people, most of them army personnel, were on board the C-130 Hercules transport aircraft when the accident happened as it tried to land on Jolo island in Sulu province around midday, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said in a statement. “So far 40 wounded and injured were rescued and 17 bodies recovered,” Lorenzana said. Photos taken by local media outlet Pondohan TV and posted on their Facebook page showed the wrecked body of the plane engulfed in flames. A plume of thick black smoke rose above houses located near the crash site. Armed Forces Chief General Cirilito Sobejana said the aircraft had been carrying troops from Cagayan de Oro on the southern island of Mindanao when it “missed the runway” as it tried to land on Jolo. The plane tried to “regain power but didn’t make it,” he told local media, describing the accident as “very unfortunate”. “Responders are at the site now, we are praying we can save more lives,” Sobejana told AFP. Sobejana said the 40 rescued were being treated at the nearby 11th Infantry Division hospital. Air Force spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Maynard Mariano said the cause of the crash would be investigated. “We are on rescue mode right now,” Mariano told AFP. It was being treated as an accident rather than an attack, Armed Forces spokesman Major General Edgard Arevalo told DZBB radio.
Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Emeritus pays tribute to PNoy | INQUIRER.NET – Honesty, humility and hard work. These are how Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Emeritus Antonio J. Ledesma summarized the character shown by the late former president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III. Ledesma on Saturday celebrated a Mass at the Saint Augustine Cathedral here to mark the ninth day after Aquino’s death, or the end of the traditional nine-day novena or pasiyam. The Mass was held with a limited audience due to health restrictions. It was, however, broadcast over radio and streamed on social media. The Mass was sponsored by various organizations and agencies, including the Commission on Human Rights, Tulay Kalinaw Mindanaw, Balay Mindanaw, Jesuit Volunteers of the Philippines, Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform, Balaod Mindanaw, Citizens Watch for Good Governance, labor group Sentro, Catholic Women’s League, National Confederation of Transport Unions, Akbayan, and the farmers in Sumilao, Bukidnon. In his homily, Ledesma cited Aquino’s strong will in pursuing social, economic and political reforms that benefited the Filipinos way beyond his six-year presidency.
PH’s low COVID-19 resilience reflects poor governance — Robredo | Manila Bulletin – Vice President Leni Robredo told the government to stop questioning the latest Bloomberg Resilience Ranking that ranked the Philippines 52nd out of 53 countries in the “worst places to be as the world finally reopens,” noting that its non-competitiveness caused such low ranking. “Iyong problema sa atin kasi sobrang satisfied na tayo sa ginagawa natin. Kaya hindi tayo nag-e-exert ng effort para humusay. Para sa atin, ang husay na natin. May problema talaga (The problem with us is we’re satisfied with what we are doing. We are not exerting effort to be better. For us, we’re so good. There’s really a problem),” Robredo said during her Sunday radio show. “Kasi kung competitive tayo, ayaw natin maunahan tayo. Dapat dito sa Southeast Asia kami iyong pinakamahusay, wala tayong ganun eh. Kasi para sa atin, kuntento na tayo lagi sa ginagawa natin (Because if we are competitive, we won’t like that someone else is ahead of us. It should be that here in Southeast Asia, we are the best, we don’t have that. Because for us, we are contended with what we’re doing),” she added. Released on June 28, the Bloomberg COVID-19 Resilience Ranking ranked the Philippines 52nd out of 53 countries, with a score of only 45.3. The country bested only Argentina with a score of 37.
