News Roundup 08 January 2021
Jan 08, 2021 • 4 min Read
DOH logs 1,776 new cases; total hits 483,852 | PHILSTAR.COM – The Department of Health reported 1,776 new coronavirus cases on Friday, pushing the total number of infections to 483,852. Of the total confirmed cases, 25,158 or 5.2% are active. The department also logged eight additional deaths, raising the fatality count to 9,364. Total recoveries increased to 483,852, up by 285 from the previous count.
De Lima moves for dismissal of 2nd drug case | PHILSTAR.COM – Sen. Leila De Lima moved for the dismissal of the second in the three drug cases she is facing, again challenging the sufficiency of evidence against her. De Lima, through her lawyer on Friday, filed a Demurrer to Evidence before the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 205 where she is facing a conspiracy to commit drug trading with her former aide Ronnie Dayan as her co-accused. The same branch is handling a separate drug case, with Jad Dera as her co-accused. Dera was earlier tagged as De Lima’s nephew, but claimed he is working as police asset. She filed a separate demurrer — a challenge to the prosecution’s evidence that, when granted, will lead to charge dismissal — on this case on Thursday. De Lima’s lawyer argued that records of the case show that the prosecution’s witnesses “failed to adduce sufficient proof that will ‘sustain a judgment of conviction beyond reasonable doubt.’”
DOJ chief now wants NBI to do separate probe on Dacera case | INQUIRER.NET – From assisting the police in investigating the death of flight attendant Christine Dacera, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra now ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to conduct a separate probe on the case. Last Wednesday, Guevarra said there is no more need to issue a department order as the NBI will only be assisting the PNP in its investigation. “I’m not issuing a DO [Department Order] because my directive to the NBI is to assist the PNP in the investigation, particularly on the medico-legal aspect of the case, rather than to conduct a separate probe,” Guevarra said last Wednesday. What changed Guevarra’s mind? He said: “With all due respect, the initial investigation by the Makati police was not thorough enough, prompting the inquest prosecutors to refer the case for further investigation and release the respondents in the meantime.” “From the DOJ’s viewpoint, the case build-up will be faster if the NBI acts independently note that the preliminary investigation has already been set on January 13,” Guevarra said.
Party-list abolition thru constituent assembly a ‘dangerous’ move — Lacson | Manila Bulletin – Attempts to abolish the party-list system, or at least directed at particular group of party-list groups, through a Constituent Assembly is fraught with danger, Senator Panfilo M. Lacson said today. “When we open the valve to amend the Constitution, especially via a Constituent Assembly, nobody, not even the highest officials of the three branches of government can choose, much less assure which provisions may be amended or not,’’ Lacson, chairman of the Senate national defense and security committee, explained. Aside from amending supposed restrictive economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution, authors of a resolution calling for a Constituent Assembly also wanted the party list provision changed. “If indeed true that the President’s reason for reviving efforts to amend the charter is to abolish the party-list system, or at least directed at particular group of party-list list groups, taking the charter change route might be a bit too big a bite to take,’’ Lacson said. If it’s true that Malacañang’s wish is only aimed at the Makabayan bloc in Congress for allegedly acting as legal and political fronts of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army ((CPP-NPA), they should be a little bit more creative in accomplishing that objective without opening the floodgate to possibly tinker with the Constitution in its entirety,’’ he pointed out.
All set for ‘nationwide’ Nazarene feast | Malaya Business Insight – The 415th Feast of the Black Nazarene will be a historic event as it will be officially celebrated nationwide, instead of the usual flocking of devotees to Quiapo Church in Manila. For decades, the Quiapo Church has been holding a grand procession in Manila during the feast of the black image of Christ, which is participated in by tens of thousands of barefoot devotees. For this year, however, Quiapo Church and the Manila city government decided to drop the grand procession to avoid a mass gathering of devotees amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Despite this around 27,000 policemen and 400 soldiers will be deployed to secure the Feast of Black Nazarene on Saturday. Fr. Douglas Badong, Quiapo Church parochial vicar, said everything is set for the localized edition of the “Traslacion.” “The Black Nazarene won’t be able to go out of Quiapo (Church) now. But more Nazarene images will come out now to carry the message,” he said in a radio interview. “From Batanes to Mindanao there will be simultaneous celebrations of the feast of the Black Nazarene.”
