News Roundup 14 November 2020
Nov 14, 2020 • 4 min Read
Cagayan under state of calamity due to massive flooding | INQUIRER.NET – The province of Cagayan was placed under a state of calamity on Saturday due to massive flooding due to Typhoon Ulysses. The announcement was made on social media by the Cagayan Provincial Information Office. “Sa Special Session ng Sangguniang Panlalawigan ngayong Araw ng Sabado, Nobyembre-14, idineklarang nasa ilalim na State of Calamity dahil sa nararanasang pinakamalaki at pinakamalawak na baha sa kasaysayan ng probinsya,” the post read. (In a special session of the provincial council this Saturday, Nov. 14, a state of calamity was declared because of the worst flooding the province’s history.) Parts of Cagayan Valley, particularly the provinces of Cagayan and Isabela, were hit by massive floods due to heavy rainfall dumped by Typhoon Ulysses. Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba, during the Laging Handa press briefing, said that apart from Ulysses, flooding in the region was likewise triggered by the release of water fro Magat Dam and heavy siltation of waterways. Nine flood-related deaths have so far been reported in Cagayan, Mamba said. Similarly, Cagayan’s capital Tuguegarao City was also placed under a state of calamity, according to Mayor Jefferson Soriano.
COVID-19 cases in the Philippines top 406,000 | PHILSTAR.COM – The country’s coronavirus caseload rose to 406,337 on Saturday after the health department recorded 1,650 new infections. Of the total cases, 35,478 — 8.7% — are marked by the Department of Health as active. Another 194 recoveries pushed the total number of those who beat the virus to 363,068. But the death toll rose to 7,791 after another 39 fatalities were recorded by the DOH.
‘Act now or step down’: Ateneo students sign mass student strike, protest gov’t response to Ulysses, COVID-19 | PHILSTAR.COM – Amid harrowing scenes of destruction on social media, over 150 students of Ateneo de Manila University vowed Saturday not to submit any academic requirements starting Wednesday, November 18, in protest of the national government’s response to the recent string of typhoons amid the coronavirus pandemic. Per The GUIDON, the school’s official student publication, students co-signed a statement in solidarity with other victims directly affected by the spate of destructive weather and called on the university community to focus its efforts on initiatives helping the most vulnerable in the aftermath of Ulysses. In response to the news, students of other universities called on other institutions to do the same. “We believe that things cannot continue business as usual. We can no longer stomach the ever-rising number of deaths due to the state’s blatant incompetence. We cannot prioritize our schoolwork when our countrymen are suffering unnecessarily at the hands of those in power,” the petition read. “We assert that the Ateneo community must, at the moment, concentrate all efforts into helping the most vulnerable citizens of the Philippines, such as those in Cagayan, Isabela, and the Bicol Region,” it also said, pledging to withhold the submission of any school requirements “until the national government heeds the people’s demands for proper calamity aid and pandemic response.”
Tuguegarao Archbishop appeals for help for victims of massive flooding in Cagayan | Manila Bulletin – Tuguegarao Archbishop Ricardo Baccay has appealed for urgent help for those affected by the massive flooding in Cagayan due to heavy rains brought by Typhoon Ulysses. “While some show increased resilience and determination in the face of difficulty, we encourage those who are capable of extending help to reach out to our needy brothers and sisters,” said Baccay in a statement. The prelate also offered his sympathies and prayers to flood victims in Cagayan. “We are deeply saddened about the severe floods impacting so many people’s lives in our province…Our thoughts and prayers are with you especially during these difficult times,” he said.
NTF-ELCAC spox baselessly red-tags CNN Philippines for sharing student org’s donation drive | PHILSTAR.COM – A spokesperson for the controversial anti-communist task force baselessly red-tagged CNN Philippines for sharing a donation drive by a leftist student organization for victims of Super Typhoon Rolly (international name: Goni) and Typhoon Ulysses (international name: Vamco). National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) spokesperson Lorraine Marie Badoy flagged the TV network for sharing on Twitter the League of Filipino Students’ (LFS) call for donations. Badoy accused, without proof, the LFS of being a “known front” of the Communist Party of the Philippines, its armed wing the New People’s Army, and the coalition of underground communist organizations, the National Democratic Front. Membership in the CPP is not illegal, as the Anti-Subversion Law has been repealed. These groups have also not yet been declared as terrorists by local courts.
