News Roundup 08 July 2020
Jul 08, 2020 • 3 min Read
Framers of the Constitution join legal challenge against Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 | PHILSTAR.COM – The luminaries behind the 1987 Constitution asked the Supreme Court to strike down provisions of the contentious Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 as unconstitutional for putting at risk the rights of the people. In less than a week since the Palace announced the signing of the law, the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 faced at least six challenges to its constitutionality before the highest court of the land. Christian Monsod and Felicitas Arroyo, Framers of the Constitution, filed the latest petition as they asked the SC to declare sections of Republic Act 11479 that define terrorism and secondary offenses, that empowers the Anti-Terrorism Council to designate suspected terrorists and that allows detention for up to 24 days without judicial charge. Unlike the previously filed five petitions, Monsod’s petition does not ask for the issuance of a temporary restraining order, but the declaration as void and the permanent prohibition on implementation of the said sections of the law. In some of the past decisions of the high court, such as in the landmark Ifurung vs Carpio Morales in 2018 on the length of term of an ombudsman, the SC considered the discussion and intent of the framers when they crafted the present Constitution in resolving petitions. The framers are joined by professors from the Ateneo Law School, Ateneo Human Rights Center, and Xavier University College of Law; Fr. Albert Alejo; and Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Mangagawa.
Ressa: Duterte could be ‘seeing too much fraud from where he sits’ | INQUIRER.NET – President Rodrigo Duterte may just be “seeing too much fraud from where he sits,” Rappler CEO Maria Ressa said Wednesday as she responded to the Chief Executive’s latest tirades against her. In a tweet, Ressa clapped back at the President, who, in a taped speech aired around 1 a.m. Wednesday, threatened to expose the veteran journalist as a “fraud.” “4 years: spewing hate on social media, manipulating Filipinos, weaponizing the law,” the award-winning former CNN journalist wrote. “We call a spade a spade. Was he referring to me? Maybe the President is just seeing too much fraud from where he sits,” she added. In his after midnight rant, Duterte repeatedly accused Ressa of being a fraud. “Ressa is a fraud. Believe me. Give us time. [It’s] too early for you to enjoy your awards. You are a fraud. We are just compiling [information] at this stage and someday in bold letters, we will show your incongruity,” Duterte said partly in Filipino.
17 DLSU Medical Center frontliners test positive for COVID-19 | Manila Bulletin – Seventeen frontliners of De La Salle University Medical Center (DLSUMC) tested positive for coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the hospital said in a public advisory on Wednesday (July 8). The announcement came after the medical center completed the mass testing of its health care workers. Among those who contracted the coronavirus were seven nurses, seven support staff, and three doctors. One of the nurses has already recovered while the other patients are experiencing mild symptoms, except for one who is in intensive care. As part of its beefed-up measures to curb the spread of the virus, access to specific areas will only be granted to those with essential business. DLSUMC has its own COVID-19 testing lab and has conducted over 500 tests among its frontliners, 97 percent of which have come out negative.
New coronavirus can spread in air – scientists | The Manila Times – LONDON: More than 200 scientists have called for the World Health Organization (WHO) and others to acknowledge that the new coronavirus can spread in the air — a change that could alter some of the current measures being taken to stop the pandemic. In a letter published this week in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, two scientists from Australia and the United States wrote that studies have shown “beyond any reasonable doubt that viruses are released during exhalation, talking and coughing in microdroplets small enough to remain aloft in the air.” That means people in certain indoor conditions could be at greater risk of being infected than was previously thought.
