News Roundup 06 June 2020
Jun 06, 2020 • 3 min Read
COVID-19 cases in Philippines exceed 21,000 as death toll nears 1,000 | PHILSTAR.COM – The Department of Health on Saturday confirmed 714 new cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), bringing the local infection count to 21,340.Of which, 350 of the cases were classified “fresh” while the remaining 364 were positive results returned “late.” The death toll is now 994 after seven new mortalities were also reported. Meanwhile, the country’s recovery tally stands at 4,441 after the Health department announced 111 more survivors. This week saw 4,116 additional COVID-19 cases on top of the 17,224 recorded as of last Saturday — the most reported in a single week so far. The mean case count for this week is also at a new high of 588 recorded per day on average.
Biz groups join clamor vs terror bill: ‘Focus on what really matters’ | INQUIRER.NET – Several business groups have publicly opposed the terror bill, joining a growing voice of dissent against the measure being pushed amid a pandemic. In a joint statement on Friday, eight business groups expressed their “opposition in the strongest possible terms to the enactment” of the bill that had recently passed Congress. The groups, which include influential organizations, such as the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) and the Makati Business Club (MBC), echoed the sentiments earlier raised by civic groups and other critics of the bill. “The Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 is highly divisive because it poses [a] clear and present danger to human rights enshrined in our Constitution at a time when our nation needs to come together as one,” they said. The government and the private sector should instead focus “on what really matters,” such as addressing the socioeconomic impact of the pandemic; strengthening the health-care system; and improving the investment climate to create more jobs, the business groups said. The groups that signed the statement are MAP, MBC, Bishops-Businessmen’s Conference for Human Development, Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines, Investment House Association of the Philippines, Judicial Reform Initiative, Philippine Business for Education, and Subdivision and Housing Developers Association Inc.
Lawyer to SC: ABS-CBN’s legislative franchise has not yet expired | Manila Bulletin – ABS-CBN’s legislative franchise has not yet expired due to the current public health emergency that President Duterte himself declared, a lawyer argued in a petition he filed before the Supreme Court (SC). “To set the record straight, the franchises of ABS-CBN are not yet expired,” reads Atty. Paris Real’s 168-page petition. “The expirations of the Franchises of ABS-CBN and its Permits to Operate, Certificates and Licenses from the NTC, were interrupted, tolled and/or suspended by the aforesaid Emergency Laws during the Community Quarantine and the same shall ‘continue to be valid sixty (60) days after the end of the government-imposed quarantine period,’” explained Real, who pointed out the legislative franchise should expire on July 31. “In fact, the same Emergency Laws mandate that the ‘holders of these permits, certificates and licenses shall be given sixty (60) days from the end of the government-imposed quarantine period to file for the renewal of their permits, certificates and licenses, without penalties or surcharges,’” he added.
House okays P2.8-trillion stimulus bills | The Manila Times – The House of Representatives on Friday passed two funding bills amounting to P2.8 trillion along with four other measures to address the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic. The measures were approved on third and final reading before Congress adjourned sine die. It will resume session on July 27 when President Rodrigo Duterte delivers his State of the Nation Address. House Bill (HB) 6920 or the “Covid-19 Unemployment Reduction Economic Stimulus (Cures) Act of 2020” was approved with 210 lawmakers voting yes and 7 voting no and with no abstentions.
