News Roundup 17 March 2022
Mar 17, 2022 • 4 min Read
Iqbal tells Bangsamoro: We can’t support a candidate who’ll bring back past horrors | INQUIRER.NET – While the Bangsamoro government has not yet decided on which presidential candidate it would support in the 2022 national elections, one of its key members has already asked the parliament not to support a candidate who will bring back the horrors of the past. In his privilege speech during Thursday’s Bangsamoro Transition Authority Parliament session, Minister of Education Mohagher Iqbal said that the Bangsamoro government should be united in choosing a worthy candidate for president — one that would not let people suffer past atrocities. “Collectively, we should once again be one body for a single cause of choosing a worthy candidate for the position of President of the Republic of the Philippines: a candidate who will preserve and defend the Bangsamoro cause,” Iqbal told the parliament. “A candidate who will assure that our women and children will not suffer the atrocities of the past, and instead wake up to a bright and colorful future brought about by living in a peaceful, harmonious, and developed community,” he added. Iqbal, who used to head the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace panel, added that the Bangsamoro government should not back a candidate who has the attitude not to honor the sacrifices of the Moro people. “In the same breath, we cannot support a candidate who will bring back the horrors of the past, or not honor the sacrifices of our brothers and sisters […] We should choose a president who is a friend of the Bangsamoro people,” he noted.
‘Concerned’ Sotto seeks another Senate inquiry on possible security breaches ahead of polls | INQUIRER.NET – While there is yet to be an indication that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) system has been compromised, Senate President Vicente Sotto III called for another Senate hearing into possible security breaches that may affect the conduct of this year’s polls. “I am concerned that our election gatekeepers lacked in ensuring the integrity of the May 9 elections. The people’s right to an honest and credible election is enshrined in our Constitution and the Comelec is tasked to ensure that the results of the elections are not tainted with doubt and especially, that the conduct of the electoral exercise was not attended by anomalies,” he said in a statement. “Dapat lang na magpatawag pa ang Senado ng imbestigasyon sa mga nangyaring security breach sa Comelec na may kinalaman sa paparating na eleksyon. Aalamin natin kung gaano na kalalim at kalawak ang inabot ng pagpapabaya,” he added. According to Sotto, election and technical experts should be invited to determine the risks brought about by the alleged security breach and how this will affect the upcoming May 9 polls.
Robredo mulls creation of Cabinet post for Bangsamoro development | PHILSTAR.COM – A potential Robredo administration could see the establishment of a Cabinet position to help oversee development in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, according to one of the senatorial candidates in her ticket. “We will also try to study the possibility of creating a Cabinet position that will oversee iyong (the) Bangsamoro development. So it’s a Cabinet position for the Bangsamoro,” former Rep. Teddy Baguilat (Ifugao) said during a forum on the region featuring representatives of five presidential candidates, including Robredo. He added it is important to strengthen relations between the national government and the Bangsamoro government. “Vice President Leni Robredo has made it her priority to ensure na ‘pag siya ang maging presidente, ay maganda ang coordination from the national, regional hanggang sa local levels,” Baguilat said. (Vice President Leni Robredo has made it her priority to ensure that if she becomes president, there would be good coordination from the national, regional down to the local levels.) Robredo was among the co-authors of the Bangsamoro law in the 16th Congress. In a meeting with the BARMM Cabinet on Wednesday, Robredo said it was an “emotional decision” for her to co-author the measure as this was part of the advocacy of her late husband, former Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo. “It was an emotional decision to be a co-author of the Bangsamoro Basic Law, because I felt I would be continuing the advocacy that … was left unfinished because of his death,” she said.
PH logs 598 more Covid-19 cases | Manila Bulletin – The Philippines recorded 598 new Covid-19 infections on Thursday, March 17. The country’s running tally of cases jumped to 3,672,661, as shown on the website of the Department of Health (DOH). Of the total count, 45,394 cases remain active or those who are still battling with Covid-19. The regions with the most number of cases in the past 14 days were the National Capital Region, Calabarzon, Central Luzon, Western Visayas, and Central Visayas. The death toll climbed to 57,880, while the recovery count soared to 3,569,387. It was also shown that the bed utilization for intensive care units dedicated for Covid-19 patients is at 24.64 percent or 912 out of 3,701 beds.
