News Roundup 01 June 2021
Jun 01, 2021 • 4 min Read
Coronavirus deaths in the Philippines breach 21,000 | PHILSTAR.COM – Local health authorities on Tuesday recorded 5,177 more COVID-19 infections, bringing the national caseload to 1,235,467.
- Active cases: 53,203 or 4.3% of the total
- Recoveries: 6,230, pushing total to 1,161,252
- Deaths: 46, bringing total to 21,012
Civic leader says gov’t ‘lying’ about Marawi rehab being 65% done | PHILSTAR.COM – A civic leader from Marawi disputed Tuesday the government’s claim that 65% of the rehabilitation of the city once besieged by Islamist militants is complete. Drieza Lininding, chairperson of the Moro Consensus Group, told a press briefing that the progress of the rebuilding of the city from the damage brought by the months-long fighting between government forces and Islamic State-inspired terrorists is far from what the government is claiming as basic facilities have yet to be restored in the most affected area. “‘Yong statement nila ay deception or talagang nagsisinungaling sila,” Lininding said. “Wala kang water system, wala kang power system. So wala kang nakakabit na basic facilities. Hindi pa natatapos ‘yong road network. So how can they claim 65% [is finished?]” (Their statement is a deception or they’re really lying … You don’t have a water system, you don’t have a power system. So you don’t have basic facilities. The road network is not yet finished. So how can they claim 65% is finished?) Housing Secretary Eduardo del Rosario told state-run People’s Television last week that the government has rebuilt 65% of the city four years after the siege, assuring that they are on track to finish the city’s rehabilitation before the end of the year. But Lininding, who has been allowed entry into the most affected area, said he estimates that the government’s progress on rebuilding the city is just around 25% to 30%. A report by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism showed that many residents have not yet secured building permits, while others had no funds.
Pacquiao still a Duterte ally despite feud with PDP-Laban, Palace says | INQUIRER.NET – Senator Manny Pacquiao remains an ally of President Rodrigo Duterte despite apparent rift within the party over the assembly of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), Malacañang said Tuesday. “I believe so, wala naman pong nangyaring pagbabago bagamat natuloy po yung PDP Laban (meeting), he (Pacquiao) remains to be party president as of now,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said when asked if he thinks Pacquiao is still a Duterte ally. (That’s what I think, nothing changed even though the PDP-Laban meeting went ahead. He’s still the party president for now.) As part of its push to make Duterte vice president, the PDP-Laban party officially endorsed him on Monday. But Pacquiao, the acting party president, discouraged members from going to the assembly, which was later revealed to have been ordered by Duterte. Pacquiao reportedly wants to sit down with Duterte and talk about the 2022 political plans. “Wala pa pong schedule pero wala rin naman akong nakikitang hadlang sa pagpupulong na yan,” Roque said of the meeting being eyed. (There’s no schedule yet, but I don’t see any hurdle from having this meeting.)
Drilon vows to block 2022 NTF-ELCAC budget: P28-B Duterte election war chest? | Manila Bulletin – Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Tuesday vowed to oppose next year’s budget of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), reiterating his belief the budget would be used as a huge “campaign kitty” of the Duterte administration for the 2022 elections. “We should be more vigilant. The 2022 budget is an election budget. We must not allow the budget to be used for election or partisan political activities,” Drilon said in a statement. Drilon said he believes that the NTF-ELCAC will seek an increase to its budget in the upcoming budget deliberations to give away more funds to different barangays across the country “in an election year.” The opposition stalwart said it is obvious that the task force’s budget is disguised as an anti-insurgency budget to help increase the chances of administration candidates in the May 2022 elections. According to Drilon, he is ready to oppose the controversial task force’s budget “tooth and nail” and also believes other senators will propose to defund the agency or give it a zero budget.
