News Roundup 06 April 2021
Apr 06, 2021 • 4 min Read
Active COVID-19 cases hit 152,562 after Philippines logs 9,737 new infections | PHILSTARCOM – The Philippines on Tuesday recorded 9,737 additional COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections to 812,760.
- Active cases: 152,562 or 18.8% of the total
- Recoveries: 313, pushing total to 646,381
- Deaths: 382, bringing total to 13,817
DILG disowns Densing’s remarks for the second time | PHILSTAR.COM – The Department of the Interior and Local Government for the second time this month disowned the comments of one of its ranking undersecretaries after the latter claimed that the Philippines did better than other countries against the coronavirus pandemic — a common talking point other officials lean on when brushing off feedback. “The Department wishes to clarify that the views expressed by Usec. Epimaco Densing III on ANC yesterday about the government’s response to the surge is his own personal opinion and does not reflect the position of the DILG,” Interior Spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said in a statement. “The Department as part of the National Task Force COVID-19 is devoting all of its time, efforts, and resources together with other government agencies in containing the surge through the intensified implementation of the Prevent, Detect, Isolate, Treat and Reintegrate strategy under the National Action Plan.” To recall, Densing in an interview aired over ANC on Monday afternoon said that the Duterte administration did not expect that the new surge of cases would be worse than that of last year’s. He added that the pandemic was “a problem with no solution on hand.”
Gordon: PhilHealth’s over P800M debt affecting PRC’s COVID-19 ops | INQUIRER.NET – The debt of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) is affecting operations of the humanitarian organization. Senator Richard Gordon, who also chairs PRC, said this Monday, disclosing that PhilHealth’s standing debt amounts to P876,048,574.00 as of April 5. “I hope the PhilHealth realizes that the money they are not paying us hurts our operations,” Gordon said in a statement. “They are paying in trickles and we are really having a very, very hard time. It’s hard talking to somebody who will say we will cut it by half in about two weeks. They said that about a month and a half ago and nothing has happened,” he added. Gordon explained that if PhilHealth successfully pays its debt, PRC will not only be able to replenish its testing supplies, it will also be able to make sure that the asymptomatic will be taken to isolation facilities where they can be taken care of. Late last year, PhilHealth also failed to pay its P1 billion debt to PRC, forcing the organization to suspend the COVID-19 testing it performs for the government on arriving overseas Filipino workers, passengers in airports and seaports, and individuals asking for COVID-19 tests in government swabbing facilities, among others.
Hontiveros to DOH, IATF: Report spending on P9-B fund for makeshift hospitals, isolation facilities | Manila Bulletin – Senator Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday, April 6, urged the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF) and the Department of Health (DOH) to release their report on the P9-billion budget allocated for the construction of temporary hospitals and isolation facilities. Hontiveros said the IATF and DOH should come clean and disclose how the funds were utilized and if these were effectively used, especially after medical facilities got overwhelmed by the surge of COVID-19 cases. “Is there nothing left with the P9-billion budget that is why some COVID-19 patients in Manila are already in provincial hospitals? Our hospitals are so overwhelmed that even the tents have been converted to emergency rooms,” Hontiveros said in a statement. “The P9 billion, if effectively used, is supposed to go to setting up temporary but humane and fully equipped makeshift hospitals. Filipinos shouldn’t have to watch their loved ones die, sometimes under the heat of the sun, just because hospitals are full,” she stressed. She said the P9-billion budget under Bayanihan to Recover as One Act or Bayanihan 2 dedicated for Temporary Treatment and Monitoring Facilities (TTMFs) and isolation facilities needs to be flagged as “urgent expenditure” while hospitals overflow. It is also important for the IATF and DOH to immediately upgrade their One Hospital Command Center (OHCC), a hotline meant to refer patients to hospitals that still have bed capacity. The senator noted the hotline has become “unreachable” because of the alleged “basic set up” of its system.
