News Roundup 07 July 2020
Jul 07, 2020 • 3 min Read
COVID-19 case tally in Philippines hits 47,873 with 1,540 new infections | PHILSTAR.COM –The Philippines posted another worrying number of new daily infections—at 1,540—Tuesday, raising the country’s coronavirus disease (COVID-19) tally to 47,873. The DOH reported that the number of recovered patients reached 12,386 after 201 more people have survived the disease. But six new deaths were recorded, raising the fatality count to 1,309.
SC orders government: Answer legal challenges vs anti-terrorism law | PHILSTAR.COM – The Supreme Court ordered the government of President Rodrigo Duterte to answer the four petitions filed challenging the constitutionality of the new anti-terrorism law. SC spokesperson Brian Hosaka said in a statement that the SC, in an en banc session on Tuesday, ordered the consolidation of the four Petitions for Certiorari and Prohibition filed against Republic Act 11479 or the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020. The four petitions, filed by lawmakers and law experts, also asked for the issuance of a temporary halt order against the implementation of the law which would take effect, according to the Malacañang, on July 18. The SC also “required the respondents to file their respective comments on the petition and application for Temporary Restraining Order within a period of 10 calendar days from notice,” Hosaka said. The petitions identified Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and the members of the Anti-Terrorism Council, who are Cabinet members, as respondents.
NBI tapped to probe ‘horrible murder’ of a senior Manila prosecutor | INQUIRER.NET – Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra has ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to conduct a probe and case build-up on what he described as “horrible murder” of Senior Assistant City Prosecutor Jovencio Senados. In a department order issued Tuesday, Guevarra required NBI Officer-in-Charge Eric Distor to submit reports on the progress of the subject investigation. “We are shocked by the audacity of this attack. It highlights once again the grave peril that our prosecutors face each day in the discharge of their duties,” Guevarra said.
Poor implementation of minimum health standards a cause of increase in COVID-19 cases – DOH | Manila Bulletin – The poor implementation of the minimum health standards is one of the causes of the continued increase in the number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the Philippines, with 1,500 more infections reported on Tuesday, the Department of Health (DOH) said. “We are not experiencing a second wave but an increase in the number of positive cases due to the increase in testing, and community transmission caused by the lack of implementation of minimum health standards,” said DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire in a press briefing.
Customs seizes P500-M in counterfeit luxury good in Tondo raid | The Manila Times – Some P500 million worth of counterfeit luxury goods were seized by operatives of the Bureau of Customs (BoC) following a raid at a warehouse in Tondo, Manila. Found inside the establishment at 1017 Juan Luna St. in Tondo were replica items bearing the brands Louis Vuitton, Lacoste, Gucci, Balenciaga, Kate Spade, Tory Burch, Hermes, Coach, Burberry, Givenchy, Prada, and Calvin Klein, and Marc Jacobs. Assistant Commissioner Philip Vincent Maronilla said on Tuesday that the owner of the establishment could be liable for violation of Republic Act (RA) 8293 or the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines and RA 1086, otherwise known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.
