News Roundup 09 September 2021
Sep 09, 2021 • 3 min Read
Philippines logs 22,820 more COVID-19 cases, highest since pandemic began | PHILSTAR.COM – Health authorities on Thursday listed 22,820 more coronavirus cases, pushing the country’s total to 2,161,892. This is the highest daily rise recorded since the pandemic started. The new figures saw active cases up by 15,537 from the 151,135 on September 8. The Department of Health said five laboratories did not submit test results.
- Active cases: 166,672 or 7.7% of the total
- Recoveries: 12,337, bringing the number to 1,960,487
- Deaths: 61, or now 34,733 in total
Red-tagger Parlade gets National Security Council post | PHILSTAR.COM – Former military general Antonio Parlade Jr. has been appointed deputy director general of the National Security Council, an advisory body under the Office of the President. The Palace confirmed Parlade’s appointment on Thursday afternoon. Parlade’s appointment comes as some sectors call for the defunding of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and the realignment of its budget to pandemic response. Security officials have claimed that scrapping the task force’s budget would intensify the recruitment of communist rebels. The Duterte administration has allocated P28.12 billion to the task force in next year’s budget, higher than its P16.44 billion outlay for this year. The NSC is chaired by the president and includes Cabinet and congressional officials. Its secretariat is headed by National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., who is director general of the NSC.
Quarantine flip flop unleashes pandemic of confusion, frustration | INQUIRER.NET – Two days ago, on Sept. 7, the government backpedaled and surprised the public by deciding to postpone the implementation of localized lockdowns as Metro Manila shifts to general community quarantine (GCQ). Metro Manila was supposed to shift to GCQ starting Sept. 8 to 30, as the government imposes what officials termed as “granular” lockdown with a four-level alert system which will determine businesses and activities allowed certain areas. Under the new lockdown system, local government units will only restrict the movement of residents in small areas—either a specific building, street, zone, village, and other places where there are high cases of COVID-19. Instead, Metro Manila and other areas will remain on modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) status until Sept. 15MThe decision, however, was met with criticism by small business owners and some government officials, too. Was it wise to extend MECQ? Amid rising COVID-19 cases in the country, paired with threats of the more transmissible Delta variant, some said Metro Manila is not yet ready for the lenient GCQ and a new lockdown system. However, the flip-flop on quarantine status caused confusion and frustration among business owners and workers.
Hontiveros slams Duterte for ‘recycling disgraced officials’ with Parlade’s appointment | Manila Bulletin – Senator Risa Hontiveros on Thursday, Sept. 9 criticized President Duterte’s move to appoint Antonio Parlade, Jr. to the National Security Council (NSC), saying it would cause national insecurity and instability. “I do not understand at all why President Duterte is so committed to recycling disgraced officials to new government posts and rewarding bad behavior among public employees,” Hontiveros said. “I worry that General Parlade’s appointment to the NSC will only cause national insecurity and instability, given his previous actions,” she said. Parlade has resigned as National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict’s (NTF-ELCAC) spokesperson after being heavily criticized for red-tagging celebrities, lawmakers, various organizations, particularly those who put up community pantries to help the poor affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Senators had earlier moved to censure Parlade after calling them “stupid” when lawmakers vowed to defund the NTF-ELCAC’s budget due to the agency’s relentless attacks against civilians they suspect to be allied with communist rebels. “We have many officers qualified to serve as Deputy Director-General of the NSC who are not spreading fake news and red-tagging everything from community pantries to celebrities. Bakit ito pang si General Parlade ang napili (Why choose Gen. Parlade)?” she lamented.
