News Roundup 16 August 2020
Aug 16, 2020 • 4 min Read
DOH records 40,397 recoveries as coronavirus cases breach 161,000 with 3,420 new patients | PHILSTAR.COM – On the second week of modified enhanced community quarantine and the 152nd day since ECQ was first hoisted in March, health officials added 3,420 new cases of the coronavirus on Sunday, bringing its total to 161,253 patients. Accompanying the new cases are 40,397 new recoveries and 65 additional deaths, bringing their totals to 112,586 and 2,665 respectively.
Hungry and homeless: Jeepney drivers hit by virus | PHILSTAR.COM – Forced off the road by coronavirus lockdowns, jeepney driver Daniel Flores now plies the streets of Manila on foot begging for money to feed his hungry family. The 23-year-old has not picked up a passenger since March when public transport was halted and people ordered to stay home as President Rodrigo Duterte’s government tried to slow the fast-spreading contagion. Jeepneys — first made from leftover US jeeps after World War II — are a national symbol in the Philippines, and serve as the backbone of the country’s transport system, providing rides for millions of people across the country for as little as P9. But drivers like Flores, and millions of others, are out of work after the months-long restrictions crippled the economy, plunging it into recession. With no income and debts piling up, Flores started living in the jeepney with his wife, two of his children and a fellow driver after they were evicted from their apartment because they could no longer pay the rent. Instead of sitting behind the wheel, Flores has spent many days begging for alms just to get by. Other drivers carry plastic containers and cardboard signs around their necks to catch the attention and sympathy of passing motorists. “We have absolutely nothing left to spend,” Flores told AFP as he sat inside his jeepney, parked in a street and crammed with cooking pots, clothes and other humble possessions. A sign asking for help from passers-by sits on top of the vehicle, which his empathetic boss has loaned him.
6 PhilHealth regional vice presidents go on leave amid corruption probe | INQUIRER.NET – The six regional vice presidents of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), who were hailed as “modern-day heroes” by a PhilHealth board member during a Senate hearing last week for exposing corruption in the state insurer, have opted to go on leave, the INQUIRER learned on Sunday. In a letter to PhilHealth executive vice president and COO Arnel de Jesus, the senior PhilHealth officials said they decided to temporarily vacate their posts after Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra called on all officials named in the latest corruption scandal rocking the state-run insurance company to step down in the meantime as various government agencies launched separate probes into the controversy. The PhilHealth regional vice presidents — Paolo Johann Perez (Mimaropa), Valerie Anne Hollero (Western Visayas), Datu Masiding Alonto Jr. (Northern Mindanao), Khaliquzzman Macabato (Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao), Dennis Adre and William Chavez — said they would relinquish their posts effective Aug. 17.
AFP wants custody of Abu Sayyaf leader Susukan | Manila Bulletin – The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) announced Sunday that it is seeking to secure the custody of Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) sub-commander Abduljihad “Idang” Susukan. Major Gen. Edgard Arevalo, AFP spokesperson, said the military and the Philippine National Police (PNP) have agreed to transfer Susukan from the national police headquarters in Camp Crame, where he is temporarily detained, to the military’s main base in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City. “For security considerations and Idang Susukan being a high value individual, the AFP through The Judge Advocate General and the PNP through the Intelligence Group will file before the court a Joint Motion to Transfer Custody of the accused Susukan to the AFP,” he said. As of this writing, the PNP and AFP were still awaiting the decision of the court as to where Susukan will be officially committed.
‘Iron Mike’ can still crack — Gibbons | The Manila Times – MP Promotions President Sean Gibbons places his bet on “Iron Mike” Tyson when the “baddest man on the planet” makes a comeback in an eight-round exhibition bout with Roy Jones Jr. at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson City, California on November 28. “I think brother Mike [still has] the heat,” Gibbons told The Manila Times on Sunday in an overseas call. “Still, Mike…I think he is in a better shape. He is a bigger puncher. Even if you’re [a] 52-year-old, you don’t lose your punch. You could crack and crack.” “The dude looks amazing hitting the pads,” he enthused. The nontitle match between undisputed heavyweight world champion Tyson and four-division world champion Jones is being promoted by streaming services Triller. The bout was supposed to be held on September 12, but it was pushed back to a later date to maximize the revenue of the event.
