News Roundup 30 October 2021
Oct 30, 2021 • 5 min Read
Philippines logs record-high 423 COVID-19 deaths | PHILSTAR.COM – The Philippines on Saturday registered 423 new coronavirus deaths, the highest single-day spike in fatalities since the start of the pandemic. The Department of Health also reported 4,008 additional infections, pushing the nation’s caseload to 2,783,896. According to the DOH, 373 cases previously tagged as recoveries were reclassified as deaths after final validation.
- Active cases: 47,690 or 1.7% of the total
- Deaths: 423, pushing the toll to 43,044
- Recoveries: 6,887, raising the total to 2,693,162
Protest erupts vs Roque at upscale New York restaurant | PHILSTAR.COM – A protest erupted at an upscale restaurant in New York City to object to presidential spokesperson Harry Roque’s nomination by the Philippines to the International Law Commission over accusations that he “failed to uphold international law.” Rallyists from Bagong Alyansang Makabayan – USA and its allied organizations staged a protest at Aretsky’s Patroon where Roque said he was hosting a private reception for representatives of several foreign missions in New York. Protesters chanted “No justice, no peace, stop the killings in the Philippines!” and “Roque out of ILC!” as heard in a Facebook Live video by Bayan – USA. “Harry Roque is a war criminal! He has no place joining the International Law Commission! We abhor everyone inside at the UN to dismiss his candidacy!” said one protester. Another protester said, “He has failed to uphold international law! He has justified the killings of Filipino women!” As they were blocked entry into the dining area, protesters shouted, “How dare you protect a war criminal!” and proceeded to chant, “Shame!” In a statement following the protest, Roque condemned the protesters for supposedly trying to “cause harm to innocent people.”
Bishop tells faithful: You can accept money from bets, but not bound to vote for them | INQUIRER.NET – Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas on Saturday reminded the faithful that they are not obliged to fulfill an “immoral or illegal” contract such as voting for a candidate even if that bet gave them money in exchange of votes. “You are not obliged to fulfill an immoral or illegal contract,” Villegas said in a video address released on Saturday. Villegas said that selling of votes is a sin and against the law. “Pero kung ikaw ay nagugutom, at ikaw ay nangangailangan, pwede mong tanggapin iyon, pero wag mong tutuparin ang ipinagagawa sayo,” Villegas said. (But when you are hungry and in need, you can accept the money, but don’t fulfill what they want you to do.) “Pwede mong tanggapin ang pera pero hindi dahil nangangako ka na tutuparin mo ang usapan, kundi dahil mayroon kang matinding pangangailangan, para sa iyo at sa iyong pamilya,” Villegas added. (You can accept the money not because you will fulfill the agreement, but because you have a desperate need for you and your family.) Villegas echoed the sentiment of presidential hopeful and incumbent Vice President Leni Robredo, who received flak from her statements. Robredo, while stressing that she is against vote buying, told voters to take a more pragmatic approach of taking the money from politicians — which, she said, could be taxpayer’s money anyway — but vote based on one’s conscience.
VP Leni insists she’s not affected by trolls: ‘Lugi sila sa akin’ | Manila Bulletin – In a media interview in Camarines Norte, Robredo shared a conversation she had with the priests in the province who asked her about the vicious attacks she has received on social media. “Ang parati ko ngang sagot, ‘Lugi nga sa akin iyong mga trolls kasi hindi ako naaapektuhan.’ Nakikita niyo naman (What I always say is, ‘The trolls are at a loss with me because I am not affected.’ You can see that), in the last five and a half years, kung ano-ano iyong paratang sa akin pero hindi ko lahat pinansin (they keep throwing accusations against me but I don’t mind them),” she said. The Vice President said her focus has always been on her work since she has a small mandate and fewer resources. “Kasi kung papansinin ko iyong lahat na paninira sa akin na wala namang katuturan, nagsasayang lang ako ng oras at emosyon (Because if I will focus on all the attacks against me, I will just waste time and emotion),” she said. Robredo has been the target of supporters of the present administration ever since she won in 2016. She’s been called “lugaw (porridge) queen” after her own supporters sold porridge in a fund-raising event for the previous elections. The opposition leader claims that trolls have been spreading fake news about her, twisting her words to make her look “bobo (stupid),” a term used by her critics. The Vice President, whose volunteers have been actively campaigning in a sea of pink caravans and motorcades the past few weeks, said her focus is on her own campaign and not the goings-on of other presidential aspirants. “Dahil late na ako nag-decide, marami akong hahabulin kaya wala talaga akong panahon tumingin sa iba. Pero ang magde-decide kasi niyan taumbayan (Because I decided late, I need to keep up so I don’t have time to look at what others are doing. But the ones who will decide are the people),” Robredo added. Robredo was in Camarines Norte on Saturday to attend the oath-taking of the new members of Solid Leni Bicol, one of the local volunteer groups supporting her candidacy. She also met with Daet Bishop Rex Alarcon during her visit. She said that her team can’t help but feel “energized” these days because of her volunteers’ efforts. “Iyon iyong gusto naming ma-harness. Pero walang—hindi kami mag-aaksaya ng oras na titingnan iyong iba kasi ang dami naming kailangang gawin from our side (That’s what we want to harness. But there’s no—we’re not going to waste time looking at others because we need to do a lot from our side),” she added.
