News Roundup 18 February 2022
Feb 18, 2022 • 7 min Read
Robredo vows to uplift welfare of PWDs | PHILSTAR.COM – Vice President Leni Robredo yesterday expressed her commitment to strengthen government support to persons with disabilities (PWDs) if she wins the presidency in May. Speaking during the covenant signing of the PWD Agenda for the 2022 elections, Robredo noted how PWD welfare is a personal advocacy as many of her kin have disabilities. She vowed to return the National Council on Disability Affairs to the Office of the President from the Department of Social Welfare and Development, saying this will ensure that programs would be prioritized and immediately addressed. “I will make sure that you will be part not just of the consultations, but in the actual crafting of policies and programs that we will implement,” she said in Filipino. She also stressed the need to improve the database of PWDs to ensure that the government would be able to provide the necessary support for all who need it. She said having a complete database will ensure the proper implementation of laws, such as the mandatory membership to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. or PhilHealth. Robredo also stressed the need to fully implement the Accessibility Law to ensure that all infrastructure and other public utilities comply with its provision seeking to enhance the mobility of disabled persons.
Robredo OK with transport modernization without burdening drivers, commuters | INQUIRER.NET – While she is in favor of modernizing the country’s transportation system, especially in Metro Manila, Vice President Leni Robredo insisted that such plans must not lead to an additional burden for commuters and the transport sector itself. Robredo on Friday explained that the ‘rushed modernization’ of Metro Manila’s transport systems — where public utility vehicles are forced to use common terminals, required to immediately upgrade their jeepney fleets — must be put on hold amid the economic downturn due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Gusto po natin ang modernisasyon ng ating public transport. Ngunit ayaw naman po natin bigyan ng karagdagang burden ang ating mga pasahero at drivers. Hindi po natin dapat ipilit ang mga polisiyang hilaw at hindi angkop sa konteksto ng pandemya,” Robredo explained in a statement. (We want to modernize our public transportation system, but we don’t want it at the expense of more burden for our commuters and drivers. We should not force raw programs and policies that are not well-suited amid the context of the pandemic.) “Ang pangunahing i-focus po natin ngayon ay maibsan ang kahirapan, ma-revive and ekonomiya at ma-control ang pagkalat ng COVID. Ang mga polisiyang hindi angkop at consistent sa objectives na ito ay dapat isang tabi muna,” she added. (The primary focus is to alleviate poverty, revive the economy, and control the spread of COVID-19. The policies that do not sit well and are not consistent with these objectives should be set aside for now.)
‘Oplan Baklas’ slammed for ‘abuse’; Comelec firm | INQUIRER.NET – The camps of presidential candidate and Vice President Leni Robredo and her running mate, Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, are considering filing a case against the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for its “unconstitutional” takedown of campaign materials put up by their supporters on private property. At a press conference on Thursday at their Quezon City volunteer headquarters, Robredo’s spokesperson Barry Gutierrez and election lawyer Romulo Macalintal announced their possible legal action. Gutierrez cited Comelec Resolution No. 10730, which allows posters and tarpaulins to be posted on authorized common areas in public spaces and private property. The poll body will act on any formal complaint filed in connection with its nationwide “Oplan Baklas,” its spokesperson James Jimenez said. “While anyone with a grievance in connection with the Comelec’s exercise of its duties is free to seek recourse with the courts, it could be helpful if they were to file formal complaints with the Comelec itself specifying the time and place of the alleged violations,” Jimenez said on Thursday. Since last week, Robredo’s supporters in Isabela province and Zamboanga City have been complaining that police and other officials were telling them to take down Leni-Kiko tarps hung on their private property without giving them prior notice. They suspected malicious intent, pointing out that these areas were commanded by the current survey front-runners, presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his running mate, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.
Doctor tagged by PNP as ‘communist terrorist leader’ arrested in San Juan; family decries allegation | Manila Bulletin – A doctor identified by the Philippine National Police as an alleged “communist terrorist group leader” was arrested in San Juan City on Friday, Feb. 18, but the family of the suspect denied the police’s allegations and called them “untrue.” Police identified the arrested suspect as Dr. Maria Natividad Castro, 53. She was nabbed by a composite team of the PNP and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) around 9:30 a.m. in her house in Barangay San Perfecto, San Juan City by virtue of an arrest warrant dated Jan. 30, 2020. According to police, Castro is accused of kidnapping and serious illegal detention under Criminal Case No. 6527. The arrest warrant was issued by Hon. Fernando Fudalan, acting presiding judge of the 10th Judicial Region, Regional Trial Court, Branch 7 of Bayugan, Agusan del Sur. No bail is recommended for Castro’s case. Police records accused Castro of being a CPP Central Committee member and alleged head of the CPP – New People’s Army (NPA) National Health Bureau based in Brgy. Libertad, Butuan City. However, Castro’s family denied the police’s allegation that she is a communist rebel and a member of the CPP Central Committee. A certain Jun Castro, who identified himself as an elder brother of the suspect, said the police’s claims were “all untrue.” Jun said that her sister is a “health worker who has set up community health centers and programs in Mindanao.” “Many years ago, Dr. Naty brought a Lumad (Philippine indigenous people) who were victims of militarization to UN [United Nations] Geneva. She spoke there, in Geneva, to help the Lumad people,” Jun said in a social media post shortly after her sister’s arrest. “My sister is accused of multiple charges of kidnapping and illegal detention, all related to her human rights advocacy. All untrue,” he added. According to Jun, Dr. Maria Natividad graduated in valedictorian in elementary at the College of the Holy Spirit Manila in 1982; valedictorian in high school at St. Scholastica’s College in Manila in 1986; and cum laude at the University of the Philippines – Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) in 1995. She was also supposedly awarded as one of the 100 most outstanding graduates of St. Scholastica in 2006.
DOH reports 2,232 new COVID-19 cases | Manila Bulletin – The Department of Health reported 2,232 new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases on Friday, Feb. 18. Friday’s case bulletin brings the total number of cases to 3,648,925 since the beginning of the pandemic. Active cases stood at 65,796 or 1.8 percent of the total number of cases. Among the active cases, 60,252 are mild; 2,869 are moderate; 1,422 are severe, 946 are asymptomatic while 307 are in critical condition. DOH said that of the 2,232 reported cases, 2,131 or 95 percent occurred within the recent 14 days from Feb. 5 to Feb. 18. The top regions with cases in the recent two weeks were NCR (378 or 18 percent), Region 4-A (236 or 11 percent) and Region 7 (212 or 10 percent). Meanwhile, a total of 3,010 new recoveries were recorded, bringing the total to 3,527,720 or 96.7 percent of the total cases while 79 more have died from the virus, bringing the death toll to 55,409 or 1.52 percent of the total cases. DOH said that of the 2,232 reported cases, 2,131 or 95 percent occurred within the recent 14 days from Feb. 5 to Feb. 18. The top regions with cases in the recent two weeks were NCR (378 or 18 percent), Region 4-A (236 or 11 percent) and Region 7 (212 or 10 percent). Meanwhile, a total of 3,010 new recoveries were recorded, bringing the total to 3,527,720 or 96.7 percent of the total cases while 79 more have died from the virus, bringing the death toll to 55,409 or 1.52 percent of the total cases.
