News Roundup 15 August 2020
Aug 15, 2020 • 3 min Read
COVID-19 cases in Philippines surpass 157,000 with 4,351 new infections | PHILSTAR.COM – The Department of Health on Saturday confirmed 4,351 new cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), bringing the country’s total caseload to 157,918. Of these, there are still 83,109 total active cases or patients who are still infected with the coronavirus. The death toll has reached 2,600 after 159 more patients succumbed to the coronavirus — the second highest on record for a single day. Meanwhile, the local COVID-19 recovery count stands at 72,209 as the Health department announced 885 additional survivors.
79% of Pinoys say quality of life worsened in past 12 months | PHILSTAR.COM – Eight in 10 Filipinos believe their lives got worse in the past 12 months, according to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) mobile phone survey. The July 3 to 6 poll found 79 percent of Filipino adults saying that their quality of life worsened compared to a year ago (called “losers” by the SWS) and eight percent saying it got better (“gainers”). This resulted in a net gainers score (gainers minus losers) of -72, classified by the SWS as “catastrophic.” Meanwhile, 12 percent of Filipinos said their quality of life was unchanged. The quality of life was also “catastrophic” or a score of -50 and below across the country, the SWS said. It was lowest in the Visayas with a net score of -75, followed by balance Luzon at -74, Metro Manila at -71 and Mindanao at -65. The SWS survey was conducted using mobile phone and computer-assisted telephone interviews of 1,555 adult Filipinos, aged 18 and above, nationwide.
PH to get $1.9B in new loans from World Bank | INQUIRER.NET – The World Bank will approve financing for another $1.9 billion in projects in the Philippines before yearend to help the economy recover from the COVID-19-induced recession, the Department of Finance (DOF) said on Friday. Specifically, the World Bank said in a recent letter to Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III that the Washington-based multilateral lender remained supportive of the Duterte administration’s ambitious “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program.
2 PhilHealth whistleblowers ‘tell all’ to task force | Manila Bulletin – Two whistleblowers have revealed that fraudulent schemes have been employed by Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) officers and employees in collusion with doctors and hospitals for a number of years, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Saturday, Aug. 15. “These schemes include the payment of false or fraudulent claims against the corporation, malversation of premiums, and the exploitation by some unscrupulous personalities of the case rate system and the interim reimbursement mechanism, among others,” the DOJ said in a statement. The DOJ said that two PhilHealth insiders narrated their knowledge on these corrupt activities during the first hearing conducted by Task Force PhilHealth on Friday, Aug. 14. The department declined to identify the two whistleblowers who requested anonymity.
Abu Sayyaf leader Susukan arrives at Camp Crame | The Manila Times – Abu Sayyaf subleader Abduljahid Susukan alias “Idang” arrived at Camp Crame in Quezon City on Saturday morning, the Philippine National Police (PNP) confirmed. Susukan arrived at the PNP Custodial Center at 1 a.m. Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founding Chairman Nur Misuari turned over Susukan to the police in Davao City last Thursday evening, after negotiations with the police. Susukan was arrested for 23 cases of murder, five for kidnapping and serious illegal detention, and six for frustrated murder.
