News Roundup 16 October 2021
Oct 16, 2021 • 3 min Read
Philippines logs 7,772 more coronavirus infections | PHILSTAR.COM – Health authorities on Saturday reported 7,772 new coronavirus infections, bringing the total number of cases to 2,713,509.
- Active cases: 85,048 or 3.1% of the total
- Recoveries: 1,634 bringing the number to 95.4%
- Deaths: 156, or now 40,580 overall
Philippines drops to 102nd of 139 in rule of law index | PHILSTAR.COM – Adherence to the rule of law in the Philippines remains one of the weakest in the region, with the country placing 102nd out of 139 countries included in the Rule of Law Index of the World Justice Project (WJP). The Philippines dropped from 91st out of 128 countries in the index last year and remained at 13th place out of 15 countries in East Asia and the Pacific region, ahead of Myanmar and Cambodia. The index measures adherence to the rule of law based on eight indicators: constraints on government powers, absence of corruption, open government, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, civil justice and criminal justice. Countries get a score of 0 to 1, with 1 indicating strongest adherence to the rule of law. In the latest index, the Philippines scored 0.46, lower by 0.01 compared to last year. The country’s scores also declined in all indicators except in regulatory enforcement and criminal justice, which stayed at 0.48 and 0.31, respectively. The index also noted a statistically significant change in the country’s score in order and security, which dropped by 0.02 to 0.63. The country has continuously slipped in the index since 2015, when it placed 51st out of 103 countries with a score of 0.53. On the first year of the Duterte administration in 2016, the Philippines scored 0.51 and ranked 70th out of 113. It further dropped to 88th out of 113 with a score of 0.47 in the 2017/2018 index and 90th out of 126 with a score of 0.47 in 2019.
240 kilos of ‘shabu’ worth P1.6B seized from 2 suspects in Cavite | INQUIRER.NET – More than P1.6 billion worth of suspected crystal meth, locally known as shabu, was seized from two suspects in a buy-bust operation in Cavite on Saturday afternoon. The suspects were identified as Wilfredo Blanco Jr, 37; and Megan Lemon Pedroro, 38, according to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency’s initial report. The buy-bust operation was conducted in a parking lot of a fast food restaurant in Barangay Salitran 2, along Aguinaldo Highway in Dasmariñas City, Cavite at around 3:30 p.m. Confiscated from the two were 240 kilos of suspected shabu, with an estimated street value of P1.656 billion, along with a Toyota HiAce white van. Both suspects are now facing charges in violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
Gordon won’t rush Blue Ribbon probe on Pharmally scandal | Manila Bulletin – Senator Richard Gordon on Saturday, October 16, said that the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s inquiry on the government’s COVID-19 pandemic purchases will continue even amid talks on the 2022 elections. “Tatapusin natin ‘yan at hindi naman importante ‘yong tapusin basta-basta dahil lang nagmamadali ka. Ang kailangan matapos mo nang may kahalagahan, may kalidad ‘yong ginawa mo. Hindi ako namumulitika rito (We will finish it and we cannot just end it abruptly just because we want to rush it. We should finish it in a manner that our output will have value and be of quality. I am not politicking here),” Gordon, who is seeking reelection to the Senate, said in an interview over radio DWIZ. “Ang importante, makita ng bayan na pwede tayong mag-imbestiga nang malaya…para malinaw sa tao na dapat matigil na ‘yong paghuthot sa bayan (What’s more important is that our people see that we can investigate freely and to make them realize that we have to stop corruption in government),” he added.
