News Roundup 02 December 2021
Dec 02, 2021 • 3 min Read
Robredo campaign claims posters, tarps being taken down | PHILSTAR.COM – The office of Vice President Leni Robredo claimed that posters and tarpaulins in support of her presidential bid were taken down in the cities of Masbate and Zamboanga, even though they were placed on private property. In a statement on Thursday, Robredo’s spokesperson Barry Gutierrez said they received reports from the vice president’s supporters from Zamboanga City that their tarpaulins, posters and ribbons were removed from Wednesday evening to Thursday morning. The alleged taking down of tarps, posters and ribbons came before President Rodrigo Duterte came to Zamboanga City. The Youth for Leni chapter in Zamboanga City posted on Facebook that campaign materials for Robredo were taken down, including a tarpaulin erected on a private property near the airport. “Aren’t all these signs of suppression and oppression? Aren’t we supposed to practice tolerance and freedom of expression regardless of political color?” Youth for Leni – Zamboanga City said. Gutierrez said they also received complaints from Robredo’s supporters in Masbate City who said their posters and tarpaulins were removed on the eve of her visit to the city on Tuesday. “This is a violation of the right of all Filipinos to freely express their support for a candidate and should not be done by anyone, especially in a democratic country like the Philippines,” Gutierrez said in Filipino.
Another disqualification petition filed against Bongbong Marcos | INQUIRER.NET – A group of petitioners filed before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Thursday another case to disqualify former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. from the 2022 presidential election. Like in the previous cases filed to void Marcos’ presidential bid, the latest disqualification case asserts that the former senator is barred from seeking public office as a result of his 1995 conviction for failure to file income tax returns. Signatories to the petition are Akbayan First Nominee Perci Cendaña, former Commission on Human Rights Chairperson Etta Rosales, lawyer Byron Bocar of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reforms, Akbayan Youth Chairperson Dr. RJ Naguit, Tition Lao-Manalo and Doris Nuval of Claimants 1081, Jean Enriquez of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, and Nice Coronacion of the Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa. The disqualification petition was the fifth case to be filed against Marcos before the Comelec. Earlier, two petitions sought to cancel his certificate of candidacy, one sought his declaration as a nuisance candidate and another petition also wants him disqualified from the 2022 elections.
David laments growing ‘escapism’ among Filipinos | Manila Bulletin – The head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has lamented the growing “escapism” among many Filipinos. Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David said such an attitude is “very wrong” especially for those who are only “seduced by troll propaganda in the social media.” The prelate said having a sense of history is crucial “because we do not want our past mistakes to keep repeating themselves.” “Otherwise, the ghost of the past can continue to haunt us in the present,” CBCP News quoted David in his speech after being conferred the honorary doctor of humanities degree from Holy Angel University in Angeles City. “We remain in that dark and perpetual state of victimhood that deprives us of a future, because we do not know how to review the past in a manner that lights up our path in the present for the future,” he added. David warned that without a sense of history, “we cannot even develop a good sense of identity.”
DOH records below 1K COVID-19 cases for 9 straight days | Manila Bulletin – The Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday, Dec. 2, reported 564 new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases nationwide. This was the ninth consecutive day that COVID-19 infections have stayed below 1,000. Based on the latest case bulletin, the country’s tally grew to 2,833,473. Of the figure, 15,188 remained as active cases. Of the active cases, 7,126 patients were experiencing mild symptoms; 3,817 were in moderate condition; 2,463 were in severe condition; 1,067 were in critical state; and 715 patients have no symptoms. The death count jumped to 48,752 after 40 more patients succumbed to the virus. However, 694 more patients were able to beat the virus. The figure caused the recovery tally to increase to 2,769,533.
