News Roundup 03 November 2021
Nov 03, 2021 • 4 min Read
Philippines logs 1,591 new COVID-19 cases, 7 labs without data | PHILSTAR.COM – The Department of Health on Wednesday said 1,591 more Filipinos contracted the coronavirus, marking the lowest additional infections since February 24 this year. This raised the country’s total count of cases to 2,793,898. But the DOH said seven laboratories failed to submit testing results. Today’s figures saw active cases up down by 2,772 from the 40,786 on November 2.
- Active cases: 38,014 or 1.4% of the total
- Deaths: 186, pushing the count to 43,586
- Recoveries: 4,294 bringing the number to 2,712,298
‘My conscience is clean’: Drilon disputes Duterte’s corruption claim | PHILSTAR.COM – Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Wednesday denied the allegations of corruption leveled against him by President Rodrigo Duterte, maintaining that his record and conscience remain clean after decades of public service. “I am not corrupt. I take exception to the statement made by the president,” Drilon said in a statement. “Since I joined the public service in 1986, I have faithfully adhered to the highest moral standards.” As he has done in the last few months, Duterte capped off a televised meeting with his pandemic task force with yet another tirade against senators and their probe on the government’s deals with its favored pandemic supplier Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. The president has become increasingly frustrated with the inquiry that has closed in on a number of his appointees and executives of the firm who he met in Davao City as early as 2017. “To tell you the truth, [Sen. Richard] Gordon and Drilon, I would not reach the presidency — from my mayorship to the presidency if I was corrupt like you,” the president said partially in Filipino during a recorded address aired this morning. “[I would not be president] if I accepted…campaign funds from the people who you know are up to no good with members of Congress,” he added, using expletives. He did not offer any proof to back up his accusations against Drilon and Gordon who leads the hearings as Blue Ribbon chairman. “My record is clear and my conscience is clean,” Drilon said. “In my 32 years in public service — nine years in the executive and 23 years in the legislative — I have never been tried for corruption in the Ombudsman or Sandiganbayan.” “I have always endeavored to protect my family name,” he added. “Aside from the laws that I have authored in my 23 years as [a] senator, all I want to leave a legacy when I retire from politics next year is my good name.”
‘Futile’ diversionary attempt: Hontiveros hits ‘laughable’ sedition, perjury raps against her | INQUIRER.NET – Senator Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday slammed as “laughable” and a “futile” diversionary attempt the sedition and perjury cases filed against her and her staff members by an employee of Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp., saying she is ready to face the complaint lodged before the Office of the Ombudsman. In an online press conference, Hontiveros said the cases were “clearly a last-ditch effort by Pharmally and its backers.” “The charge to commit sedition is laughable. Holding public officials accountable is not rising publicly and tumultuously against the government,” she said. “Yung pagtanggap ng mga impormasyon galing sa mga citizen para singilin yung accountability ng mga public officials sa graft and corruption sa mga limitadong pandemic funds, that is hardly, that is not at all, inciting to sedition,” she added. (Accepting information from citizens to exact accountability of public officials on graft and corruption of limited pandemic funds, that is hardly, that is not at all inciting to sedition.) “Hindi ‘yan calling on the public to rise publicly and tumultuously against the government. At klaro sa aming mga resibo, walang bribery on the part of anyone in my office,” Hontiveros stressed. (That is not calling on the public to rise publicly and tumultuously against the government. And it is clear from our receipts that there is no bribery on the part of anyone in my office.)
‘Public health first’: Robredo aims for free health care in response to COVID-19 | Manila Bulletin – Vice President Leni Robredo wants to make health care “free and accessible” for every Filipino amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. In a five-minute video posted Wednesday, Nov. 3 on her official Facebook page, Robredo also bared plans to build a tertiary hospital in every region and province so there will be no need to go from town-to-town in search of an available hospital bed. “Nakakatakot magkasakit. Marami nang nawawalan ng mahal sa buhay. Marami nang nabaon sa utang dahil sa gastos. Kaya bago ang lahat, public health muna (It’s scary to get sick. Many have lost their loved ones. Many are in debt because of the expenses. That’s why, before anything else, prioritize public health),” she said. “Libre at accessible na healthcare. Libreng konsulta gamit ang teknolohiya. Bawat barangay may sapat na kagamitan at may sariling nurse. Bibigyan natin ng sapat na kakayahan ang mga nurse, doktor, barangay health worker, at iba pang medical frontliner (Free and accessible health care. Free consultations using technology. Every barangay should have the proper equipment and its own nurse. We will capacitate the nurses, doctors, barangay health workers, and other medical frontliner),” Robredo added. Robredo, who is vying for presidency in the 2022 polls, further detailed her pandemic action plan, dubbed as “Kalayaan sa COVID,” on her official website www.lenirobredo.com.
