News Roundup 11 July 2022
Jul 11, 2022 • 5 min Read
No need to panic but be cautious, DOH says as daily average of COVID cases climb to 1,535 | INQUIRER.NET – With COVID-19 cases in the country on the rise again, the Department of Health (DOH) reminded the public Monday to not panic, but be cautious. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the average new daily infections have risen to 1,535 cases, which is higher than the 1,009 cases recorded the previous week. “Dito pa lang kapag tiningnan natin, ang kaso talaga ay tumataas at kailangan talaga mag-iingat tayong lahat,” Vergeire said in an interview with Teleradyo. (Just from these numbers, we can see that the cases are rising and we should be careful.) “Hindi kailangang mag-panic pero kailangan talaga mag-iingat (We don’t need to panic but we need to be cautious),” she added. According to Vergeire, the public must understand that “the virus is here to stay” and that new infections should be expected. “Ang pinaka-importante ay ang ating severe and critical, we keep it at a minimum,” Vergeire said. (The most important thing is that severe and critical cases are kept at a minimum.) “Ang importante rin po ay yung mga namamatay kakaunti, at pinaka-importante ang ospital natin ay hindi napupuno,” she added. (Another important thing is we minimize the number of deaths and that our hospitals are not full.) The DOH reported an additional 2,018 cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, bringing the total number of active infections to 13,818. According to the DOH’s COVID-19 tracker, these new infections also raised the country’s caseload to 3,718,467 nationwide, with 3,644,009 recoveries and 60,640 deaths.
Bar exam application extended until August 15 — SC | INQUIRER.NET – The Supreme Court on Monday announced extending the deadline for the filing of application to take the 2022 Bar examination from July 15 to August 15. Under Bar Bulletin No. 4 signed by 2022 Bar Examinations Chair Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, the adjustment was made after they were informed of variance in various law schools’ academic calendars. “Some law schools will close their academic year later than others and later than the close of the original application period,” read the Bar Bulletin. “In order to give all interested law graduates ample time to prepare and submit their documentary requirements, while still ensuring that the different offices of the Supreme Court will have enough time to process and verify the adequacy of the applications to be received, the application period is hereby extended to August 15, 2022,” the SC said. Applications for the 2022 Bar examination are also through the Bar Personalized Login Unified System or Bar PLUS. This is the same system used during the 2020/21 Bar examination as part of the court’s step into a digitized and localized examination. The Bar examination is set on its original schedule in November. However, the exact date will be announced later in a Bar Bulletin.
Risa Hontiveros, Robin Padilla unlikely allies in reviving discussion on divorce | PHILSTAR.COM – Sens. Risa Hontiveros and Robin Padilla are finding themselves on the same side of the fence as they have both identified the legalization of divorce in the Philippines among their priority measures for the 19th Congress. Hontiveros and Padilla filed different versions of the measure that is deemed rather controversial in the Philippines, where majority identify as Catholic and which is the only state aside from the Vatican that has not yet legalized divorce for the entire population. Divorce is only legal in the Philippines for Muslim couples who were married under Muslim rites. Hontiveros has been identified by former Vice President Leni Robredo as the new leader of the opposition as she is now the highest-ranking elected official from their ranks, while Padilla has been a vocal supporter of former President Rodrigo Duterte. But Hontiveros said she is willing to work with any senator on common issues they are pushing for. “We are ready to cooperate with any senator with the same advocacies for women and the Filipino family,” Hontiveros said Monday in Filipino in a reply to media queries. “As in the past six years, I am always able to cross party lines and unite with other senators to push important laws.” Hontiveros said she is hopeful that there is a better chance for the divorce bill to hurdle Congress this time around as the Senate panel on women, children, family relations and gender equality already tackled the proposal in the 18th Congress. The committee report from those hearings can be a basis for new discussions on the measure, she said. While both Hontiveros’ and Padilla’s bills seek to legalize divorce in the country, the two proposals are markedly different from each other.
For 6th anniversary of Hague ruling, youth coalition wants Marcos Jr. to keep WPS promises | PHILSTAR.COM – As this year marks the 6th anniversary of the historic 2016 Hague ruling, a youth coalition has called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to defend the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity as he supposedly promised during his campaign. The West Philippine Sea Coalition (WPSC) is urging the country’s new leaders to “not sail in the same direction as the previous administration” when it comes to dealing with West Philippine Sea issues with China. “The Filipino youth will hold President Marcos Jr. to his promises,” WPSC Spokesperson Nathalie Walker said in a press conference held Monday. “If he decides to follow the Duterte administration’s defeatist policy on China, and if he crumbles before Beijing’s bullying and abandons our fisherfolk.” The historic 2016 ruling invalidated China’s claims over the disputed waters and provided that the area is part of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Beijing has continuously ignored the ruling and the Philippines filed over 200 diplomatic protests over China’s illegal activities within the waters. Marcos Jr. previously said that the country’s sovereignty will not be compromised under his leadership. “We will not allow a single square, and maybe make it even more smaller, single square millimeter of our maritime coastal and up to 200 kilometers rights to be trampled upon,” Marcos Jr. said on May 26. However, the president’s recent remarks on the issue hint that his stance is similar to former President Rodrigo Duterte’s. Just last week, Marcos Jr. said he would be focusing on looking for “ways to resolve the conflicts” by increasing the scope of the Philippines’ relationship with China aside from the dispute.
