News Roundup 13 October 2021
Oct 13, 2021 • 5 min Read
Philippines tops 40,000 coronavirus deaths | PHILSTAR.COM – Coronavirus deaths in the Philippines surpassed the 40,000th mark on Wednesday as authorities reported 173 new fatalities and 7,181 more infections. Total number of deaths from the pandemic at home stood at 40,069, while the overall count of cases was at 2,690,455. DOH said two laboratories did not submit screening results.
- Active cases: 82,411 or 3.1% of the total
- Recoveries: 6,889 bringing the number to 2,567,975
- Deaths: 173, or now 40,069 overall
Robredo in talks with Neri Colmenares, Sonny Matula for inclusion in Senate slate | PHILSTAR.COM – Vice President Leni Robredo is in talks with former Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares and Federation of Free Workers president Sonny Matula for them to be included in her Senate slate in the 2022 elections, Philstar.com learned Wednesday. Former Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat said Robredo’s camp has been negotiating with Colmenares and Matula, who are both eyeing seats in the Senate in next year’s polls. “I know that they are talking to the group of Sir Neri Colmenares in Makabayan,” Baguilat told Philstar.com partly in Filipino. “I think even the group of Partido Manggagawa, Sonny Matula, also their candidate for the Senate.” In a message to Philstar.com, Colmenares said that “talks are ongoing on my inclusion in her slate [but there is] nothing definite yet.” Makabayan has also endorsed Kilusang Mayo Uno chairperson Elmer “Bong” Labog for senator. Matula confirmed to Philstar.com that talks with Robredo are still ongoing after opposition coalition 1Sambayan endorsed him to be part of her senatorial lineup. He said Robredo welcomed his inclusion in the slate. Matula has backed Robredo’s presidential run, but Colmenares and the progressive Makabayan coalition that he is a part of has not categorically stated their support for Robredo’s presidential bid as they remain hopeful for unity among the vice president and other presidential aspirants. In a statement last week, Colmenares said that Makabayan is “certainly willing to work with her and other non-administration candidates in ending Duterte’s tyranny, preventing a Marcos restoration, and uplifting the country from the catastrophe of the past five years.” But Robredo said last Friday that she is no longer interested in closing ranks with other presidential aspirants as “the focus now is not to unite the principals, but the people.”
Drilon unloads frustration over IATF’s leadership, ‘erroneous’ policies | INQUIRER.NET – Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Wednesday unloaded his frustration over what he said are “erroneous” policies of the government’s pandemic task force, stressing that “something is wrong” with its leadership. During the budget hearing of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Drilon said the Filipino public seems to have lost trust in the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases. “Hindi ko po talaga maintindihan ang ibang bansa, ganoon din, may mga [I really can’t understand that if other countries also have] restrictions, why were they able to manage better? Something is wrong with our IATF leadership,” the minority leader said. “I must say your Secretary of Health is a punching bag insofar as the public opinion is concerned because of the issues like Pharmally. Wala pong tiwala ang bayan sa sinasabi ng IATF kaya ganyan. Hindi sumusunod sa patakaran dahilan po walang tiwala and you cannot blame our people for this,” he added. (I must say your Secretary of Health is a punching bag insofar as the public opinion is concerned because of issues like Pharmally. The public has lost trust in what the IATF is saying. They would opt not to follow the policies and you cannot blame our people for this.) Health Secretary Francisco Duque was also chairman of the IATF. Drilon further lamented what he described as a “lack of credibility” on the part of the government. “I have nowhere else to unload this frustration which I would like to think is shared by many of our people because of the erroneous and not well thought of moves by the IATF. It is always a command and control concept. This is our command and therefore we control,” he said. “Unfortunately that frustration resulted in thousands having died, millions being unemployed, millions of families being hungry, because of these erroneous moves and policies and lack of credibility on the part of the government.” “All of this goes to the credibility of the government in influencing the behavior of our people which is very critical in. The behavior of our people to me is very important in this pandemic campaign,” he also said. Before airing his frustration, Drilon pointed to recent reports that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has slashed its 2021 growth forecast for the Philippines to 3.2 percent.
#KakampinkWednesdays trends on Twitter | Manila Bulletin – The hashtag #KakampinkWednesdays, which refers to Vice President Leni Robredo’s supporters call to wear pink every Wednesday until the May 2022 elections, trended on Twitter Wednesday afternoon, Oct.13. #KakampinkWednesdays trended no. 7 on the social media site in the Philippines. Robredo’s daughters led the way in posting “something pink” on their timelines, with Aika posting a photo of pink flowers and hair scrunchies. “How about some pink flowers to brighten this gloomy day? Pink be with you, everyone! #wednesdaysarepinkdays #kakampinkwednesdays,” she wrote. Tricia followed this up with a photo of a traditional Pinoy bread with pink pudding while Jillian posted a photo of her and her mother that she edited to make it look like the Vice President was wearing a pink blouse. But it’s not just the Robredo sisters who joined the so-called “pink revolution” every Wednesday. Adamson University illuminated its SV facade in pink “to show our solidarity with the cause of Vice President Leni Robredo”. “She has shown resistance to corruption, disdain for injustice, and an untainted love for the poor reflected by her wholehearted service. We have had strongmen and political dynasties lead our nation. It’s time we don’t settle for less. Let us choose genuine servant-leadership,” Adamson’s Facebook post said.
