News Roundup 02 November 2021
Nov 02, 2021 • 5 min Read
2,303 COVID cases, 128 deaths seen on All Souls’ Day | PHILSTAR.COM – The Philippines saw 128 more coronavirus-related deaths on All Souls’ Day, a figure that authorities reported along with 2,303 new infections. This pushed the country’s overall count of COVID-19 cases to 2,792,656. The Department of Health said 1.5% of those remain as active cases. Some eight laboratories, meanwhile, failed to submit screening results according to the agency.
- Active cases: 40,786 or 1.5% of the total
- Deaths: 128, pushing the count to 43,404
- Recoveries: 4,677 bringing the number to 2,708,466
Police reports in EJKs included recommendations to ‘reward’ officers — CHR | PHILSTAR.COM – Police reports on anti-illegal drug operations that resulted in deaths sought to reward the cops involved and even absolve them from liability, the Commission on Human Rights disclosed on Tuesday. This came as it disclosed Tuesday the findings of its earlier analysis of incidents of killings and violence documented since the said campaign started in 2016 until February 2020. The CHR in a statement sent to media Tuesday said it observed in 77 out of 90 police reports complete with results of internal investigation findings that police also made recommendations that police operatives involved in the said incidents “are either to be awarded, rewarded, or recognized.” Some reports, while no mention of commendation, upheld the legitimacy of operations and, in a few reports, “recommended that participating operatives be absolved from criminal or administrative liability.” The CHR questioned a number of discrepancies in police claims on anti-illegal drug operations as it noted what it called the “widespread nature of killings” linked to the government’s so-called war on drugs.
DZRH’s Chavez apologizes to Robredo for erroneous report on alleged paid caravan | INQUIRER.NET – Radio station and news outfit DZRH has issued an apology to Vice President Leni Robredo and her volunteers after an erroneous report claiming that people in Northern Samar were offered money just to join a caravan for the presidential aspirant. In a statement from Manila Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) vice president and DZRH Nationwide station manager Cesar Chavez, he admitted that their reporter — who made the story about Robredo’s volunteers allegedly getting unpaid because organizers kept the money to themselves — had no direct quote to substantiate the claims. DZRH is an AM radio station under the MBC banner. “Paumanhin po kay VP Leni Robredo at sa kanyang mga supporter na nagsagawa ng motorcade sa ilang bayan sa Northern Samar noong nakaraang Sabado, Oktubre 30, 2021,” Chavez said in his social media pages. (We are apologizing to VP Leni Robredo and her supporters who did a motorcade in some towns in Northern Samar last Saturday, October 30, 2021.) “Sa aking pagsisiyasat hanggang sa oras na ito, walang direct quote ang aming reporter mula sa sinuman na nagsabing siya o sila ay ‘hindi nabayaran’ at umano’y ‘binulsa ng mga organizer’ ang bayad na dapat para sa kanila kapalit ng pakikilahok sa kanilang motorcade,” he added. (Based on my research, up to this time, our reporter has not placed any direct quote from anyone who would say that they were ‘not paid’ and that the organizers “kept the funds to themselves,” regarding the money which was supposed to be paid for people joining their motorcade.) Chavez also confirmed that the said reporter has been suspended from service for now. The MBC official, who was once part of Manila Mayor Isko Moreno’s office in the city, stressed that what happened is not part of their policy. “Ibig sabihin, mismong ang reporter namin ay walang nakausap kahit isang nilalang sa Northern Samar na nagsabi na may naganap na bayaran o mayroong hindi nabayaran sa event na iyon,” he explained. “Dahil dito, suspended muna sa pagbabalita ang nasabing reporter sa aming himpilan habang isinasagawa pa ang karagdagang pagsisiyasat.” (This means our reporter has not talked to anyone in Northern Samar who could testify that there were non-payment incidents that happened in that event. Because of this, our reporter has been temporarily suspended while our station is making the appropriate investigation.) “Hindi namin kinokonsente ito. Hindi namin policy ito. Ngunit tinatangap po namin ang pananagutang sa pagkakamaling ito, kasunod ng aming pagtiyak sa publiko na higit pa naming pagsisikapan ang isang balanced, fair and responsible reporting sa aming multimedia platforms,” he added. (We do not give our consent to these actions. This is not our policy. However, we also accept responsibility for this mistake, along with our assurance to the public that we would continue striving for a balanced, fair, and responsible reporting on our multimedia platforms.) Robredo, for her part, has already thanked Chavez on Twitter for issuing the clarification. Her spokesperson, lawyer Barry Gutierrez, on the other hand emphasized the important role of the media in the 2022 national elections.
Forego caravan: Mayor Sara appeals to Sara All Philippines 2022 organizers | Manila Bulletin – Presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte on Tuesday night, Nov. 2 appealed to the organizers of the Sara All Philippines 2022 caravan to give up their plans of holding a caravan amid the Covid-19 pandemic. “I am respectfully appealing to the organizers of Sara All Philippines 2022 to forego the planned Cotabato to Manila caravan from Nov 4 to Nov 15,” Duterte said in her Facebook post captioned “An Appeal to Friends”. Duterte reminded her supporters that “it is extremely unwise to move around the country” at this time of the pandemic. “I am urging the organizers and the supporters to translate your expression of support into something productive and relevant to society,” she added. Based on the itinerary of the caravan shared by the mayor in her Facebook post, the delegates would take off from Cotabato City on November 4; Bukidnon on November 5, and Cagayan de Oro City on November 6. The supposed date of arrival in Manila is on November 13 and a “Big Day” event is set on November 15. Duterte, who announced last September that she will not run for President, also thanked the organizers but reminded them that organizing a caravan is unnecessary. “Your overwhelming support and trust in me are not being unnoticed. They are deeply appreciated. But then again, the caravan is not necessary because a decision was already made public as early as September 10 not to run for President,” she said. Duterte encouraged the organizers to use the money instead to feed the hungry and to initiate other activities that will benefit those who have less in life.
