News Roundup 05 May 2020
May 05, 2020 • 2 min Read
Police to investigate local officials who may have pocketed SAP funds | PHILSTAR.COM – The Department of the Interior and Local Government on Tuesday ordered the Philippine National Police to look into supposed anomalies in the distribution of financial aid to Filipinos affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said he is “directing PNP units all over the country and also requesting the National Bureu of Investigation to prioritize the investigation of graft and corruption cases against local officials on SAP distribution.”
Local execs tagged in SAP fund mess ordered probed | INQUIRER.NET – Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Archie Gamboa on Tuesday ordered the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) to investigate local executives accused of corrupt practices in the distribution of funds for the social amelioration program (SAP). Interior Secretary Eduardo Año’s pronouncement came after Danilo Flores, a barangay kagawad of Hagonoy town in Bulacan province, was accused of supposedly taking more than half of P6,500 financial aid from SAP funds. Gamboa said CIDG teams would look into “disbursement records, receipts, and other paper trail evidence as well as sworn statements of fund recipients” to find leads.
Doctors warn on easing lockdown, fear second wave of COVID-19 | Manila Bulletin – Doctors are cautioning against downgrading the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in the National Capital Region (NCR) and other parts of Luzon in the wake of fears of a second wave of COVID-19 transmissions. Dr. Imelda Mateo, hospital chief of Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center, said that the hospital admits 5 to 10 patients daily. “Unti-unti tumataas pa rin (It still rises little by little) on a daily basis, kasi (because) we see and manage co-morbid and treat them as such. That has been the case for the past 3 days,” Mateo said in an interview with ABS-CBN News. The physician said that downgrading quarantine measures should only be done if the public has become disciplined. “‘Pag talagang disciplined na ang public (If the public becomes disciplined) to abide by the recommendations on infection prevention, social distancing, personal distancing, hand washing, staying at home when it’s not necessary to go out,” Mateo added.
DepEd moves opening of classes to August | The Manila Times – The Department of Education on Tuesday announced that it would move the opening of classes from June to August amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic. “Ang napili nating school opening date ay August 24 (We have chosen to open school on August 24),” Education Secretary Leonor Briones said in a virtual press briefing. However, Briones said that not all teachers and students would be required to physically report to schools once classes begin as a measure to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Meanwhile, the Education department will implement online learning and offline methods like take-home readings and activities, in delivering education for the next school year.
