News Roundup 12 December 2020
Dec 12, 2020 • 5 min Read
Coronavirus cases in Philippines hit 448,331 with 1,301 new infections PHILSTAR.COM – The Department of Health on Saturday reported 1,301 new cases of COVID-19, pushing the national caseload past 448,000. Of the total 448,331 cases, 30,168 — or 6.7% — are marked active, meaning these patients are still undergoing treatment or quarantine. The total number of recoveries is at 409,433, after another 111 people were reported by the DOH to have survived the virus. However, the death toll rose to 8,730 after another 35 fatalities were recorded.
Researchers find links between pro-Marcos books, sites, online disinformation | PHILSTAR.COM – Pro-Marcos books, heritage sites and online disinformation are linked with one another, researchers from the University of the Philippines found according to a report by VERA Files. Researchers Miguel Paolo Reyes and Joel Ariate Jr. found that books written in favor of the Marcoses were written by their aides and allies. They said that most of the authors relied on the Marcoses themselves as sources, while others plagiarized. Some of the books, they said, framed historian Renato Constantino to be a Marcos supporter, when his work shows otherwise. They also found that the books claimed that most victims of Marcos’ brutal martial rule were communists, and rejected any claim of graft and corruption committed by the Marcos family. “All of these can be categorized as fundamental lies about the Marcoses: from false claims about Marcos’ brilliance and heroism to disinformation about the Marcoses’ wealth and the status of the cases filed against them,” Reyes said in the VERA Files report. These books, in turn, became the basis of artifacts and photos in museums and sites that commemorate Marcos’ supposed greatness.
SC urged: Look into ‘factory of warrants’ | INQUIRER.NET – A group of lawmakers on Friday appealed to the Supreme Court to take a closer look at the way lower courts had been issuing search warrants, which they said were being “weaponized” by government security forces to silence activists and critics. The Makabayan bloc at the House of Representatives particularly condemned the series of raids based on warrants issued by a Quezon City judge and conducted by the Philippine National Police on Thursday, as the country observed the International Day of Human Rights. The predawn raids led to the arrest of six labor organizers and a journalist affiliated with a “Red-tagged” news site, the latest to be rounded up this month. On Dec. 2, police arrested peasant organizer Amanda Socorro Echanis in Cagayan province, and two days later collared labor leader Jose Bernardino in Pampanga province. According to the human rights advocacy group Karapatan, at least 3,614 activists have been arrested under the Duterte administration, with 426 still in jail because the “trumped-up” cases filed against them were for nonbailable offenses.
VP Robredo calls red-tagging attacks on social media ‘fake news’ | Manila Bulletin – “Fake news,” Vice President Leni Robredo said of the social media attacks against her yesterday, accusing her of being on the side of the communists. The posts red-tagging Robredo came out on social media Saturday almost at the same time. “None of the allegations are true,” she said. “Pare pareho at halos sabay sabay ang labas. So mukhang eto yung script this week (The posts were the same and almost came out almost at the same time. So this could be the script for this week).” In a Facebook post on Saturday, Dec. 12, Robredo said: “It gets crazier and crazier. Now I am being red-tagged.” The vice president was reacting to the online attacks saying that she is protecting the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, New People’s Army (NPA), in pursuing peace talks. The Vice President shared the screenshots of the Facebook and Twitter posts where she was red-tagged using false information. The posts said: “Yari! Totoo ba ito Leni Lugs? Kaya pala ayaw mong e-kondena ang rebeldeng NPA…(Oh no! Is this true Leni Lugs? That’s why you don’t like to condemn the NPA rebels),” the netizen wrote. The post was accompanied by a fake quote attributed to Robredo saying she is grateful to those protecting the NPA. “Kailangan natin protektahan ang NPA. Pagasa din sila ng ating bayan. Dapat makiisa ang gobyerno sa hangarin ng NPA. Eto ang pangako ko kapag ako naging Pangulo (We have to protect the NPA. They are also the hope of our nation. The government should unite with the NPA on its goal. I promise this when I become the President),” it read. Another netizen tweeted: “Just how ridiculous and traitorous @lenirobredo is for planning to engage peace talks with the CPP when the President has already said there would be no peace talks during this administration.” Robredo asked the public to report the fake news peddlers who red-tagged her on social media platforms.
NBI exec died of ‘accidental fire’ | The Manila Times – “Accidental fire” was the cause of death of a National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) official who was found with a gunshot wound at his office early this week, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said on Friday. He said the information on lawyer Raoul Manguerra was relayed to him by NBI Director Eric Distor and the official’s widow, Ma. Rosario Bernardo. “Accidental fire — that was what the OIC NBI chief briefly told me and Attorney Manguerra’s widow this morning,” Guevarra added, but stressed that it was not clear who fired the shot. “Who fired, he (Distor) did not elaborate. I have asked for an official report,” the Department of Justice chief said. “Foul play, however, appears to be out of the question.”
