News Roundup 20 July 2021
Jul 20, 2021 • 4 min Read
Philippines reports 4,516 new COVID-19 cases | PHILSTAR.COM – Health officials on Tuesday logged 4,516 new coronavirus cases, bringing the country’s total to 1,517,903. Today’s numbers saw active cases down by 755 from July 19’s 47,561. The Department of Health said 10 laboratories failed to submit testing results.
- Active cases: 46,806 or 3.1% of the total
- Recoveries: 5,240, bringing the number to 1,444,253
- Deaths: 58, or now 26,844 in total
Senator flags reported cyber espionage by ‘Chinese-speaking actors’ ahead of polls | PHILSTAR.COM – Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday called on the government to investigate reported cyber espionage attacks carried out against internet users in the Philippines, warning China might deploy the same tactics to interfere with upcoming elections next year. She was referring to a report from cybersecurity firm Kaspersky which found “a rare, wide-scale advanced persistent threat (APT) campaign against users in Southeast Asia, most notably Myanmar and the Philippines” driven by “Chinese-speaking threat actors.” Kaspersky also said it identified some 1,400 victims, including government entities, of the cyber attack on Philippine users by a “cluster of activity” attributed to the HoneyMyte threat group: “a well-known, long-standing, Chinese-speaking threat actor…primarily interested in gathering geopolitical and economic intelligence in Asia and Africa.” Earlier Tuesday, Chinese embassies in New Zealand and Australia dismissed as “groundless” and “irresponsible” allegations by the US and its allies that China has been hacking Microsoft Exchange — an email platform used by corporations around the world. “Given the virtual nature of cyberspace, one must have clear evidence when investigating and identifying cyber-related incidents,” the Chinese embassy in New Zealand said. Hontiveros said in Filipino that “[she] will not be surprised if China interferes in our elections.” “Obviously, they will do everything to permanently claim our waters and territories in the West Philippine Sea, and this includes appointing a leader who will not contradict their orders,” she also said. “China’s cyberwarfare and disinformation campaigns will be one of the biggest threats to our national security and our democracy.” The senator urged the Departments of National Defense and Information and Communications Technology “to immediately look into Kaspersky’s report.” She also said the two departments should strengthen the country’s cyber defense framework, noting that this is not the first time cyberattacks on the Philippines from actors allegedly linked to China have been reported.
Pangilinan wants bigger 2022 budget for PCG to ramp up West PH Sea patrols | INQUIRER.NET – Senator Francis Pangilinan on Tuesday called for a higher budget for the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to provide “much-needed” support for patrols in the West Philippine Sea and to ensure the protection of Filipino fishermen and the country’s territorial waters. PCG’s budget for 2021 amounts to P13.2 billion, which is 13 percent lower than its 2020 funding of P15.22 billion, Pangilinan pointed out in a statement. The senator issued the call for an increased PCG budget for next year after it drove away a Chinese navy ship near a Palawan town through a radio challenge. “Ang galing ng ating David sa kanilang Goliath. Super lodi ang ating Coast Guard lalo na’t limitado ang kanilang resources. Kailangang bigyan sila ng saktong budget para mas marami pa silang matulungan,” Pangilinan said. (Salute to our David to their Goliath. Our Coast Guard is doing a commendable job with the limited resources available to them. We should provide them with more budgetary support so that they could do more.) “We commend our brave PCG personnel for asserting our territory and rights within our exclusive economic zone. We thank them for their invaluable contributions in protecting our territorial waters including the livelihood of our fishermen. Pagkain, buhay at hanapbuhay ang nakataya,” he added. Noting the decrease in PCG’s budget in 2021 as compared to last year, the senator stressed that giving more support to the PCG signifies a deeper commitment to assert the county’s claim over the West Philippine Sea. “Biruin nyo, 80% ng ating territoryo ay mga katubigan ngunit kakarampot lamang ang budget upang protektahan ito. Pinagkakasya lang ng ating mga magigiting na Coast Guard. Supporting the Coast Guard means supporting our stand on the West Philippine Sea,” he said. (Eighty percent of the country’s territory is water but we have a small budget to protect it. Our Coast Guard is just making do of what they have. Supporting the Coast Guard means supporting our stand on the West Philippine Sea.)
Robredo wishes Duterte well on his possible VP bid | Manila Bulletin – Vice President Leni Robredo on Tuesday, July 20, wished President Duterte well should he pursue his vice presidential bid in the May 2022 polls. Instead of dwelling with the legality of his vice presidential bid, Robredo chose to extend her well wishes to the Chief Executive. “Kung halimbawa tumakbo siya, manalo siya, ang wish ko lang sa kanya sana hindi niya pagdaanan iyong pinagdaanan ko habang VP ako (If he decides to run and wins, my only wish for him is he will not go through what I experienced when I was the VP),” she said in a media interview.
