News Roundup 18 July 2022
Jul 18, 2022 • 4 min Read
COA flags delays in 14 DOTr projects worth P1.6-trillion | INQUIRER.NET – Fourteen foreign-assisted projects of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) worth P1.61 trillion suffered “setbacks” in implementation last year, forcing the government to pay P128.42 million in additional fees to several lenders financing them, according to the Commission on Audit (COA). State auditors reviewed the projects’ status as of the end of 2021 and found common problems in implementation, among them issues in procurement, and financial and technical concerns. In a 2021 audit report on the DOTr, the COA said these led to prolonged implementation and changes in project cost and scope, and caused some to be restructured. “It bears stressing that the issues encountered in the implementation of the projects should be immediately addressed to prevent further extension of services/project’s completion/implementation period, and consequently incurrence of additional commitment fees/charges in case of extension of the loan validity period,” the COA said.
Catholic religious superiors assail red-tagging among their ranks | INQUIRER.NET – The country’s Catholic major superiors and consecrated people on Monday assailed supposed red-tagging among their ranks with a vow that they will not be daunted in pursuing their mission to uphold justice and peace. In a statement published on the website of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), the Conference of Major Superiors in the Philippines (CMSP) asserted that red-tagging and name-calling “will not cow them.” CMSP, previously known as the Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines (AMRSP), did not cite any particular case of red-tagging. “Some among our ranks were red-tagged; irresponsible labels and name-calling will not cow us. To serve the people of God is never wrong,” said the CMSP. “To be in solidarity with the struggles, dreams, and hopes of our people is demanded by our life of consecration to God and his people,” it added. The organization then urged its members to keep working with justice, peace advocates, and environmental and human rights defenders. “Let us go to the margins and peripheries, the new frontiers and spheres of our missionary presence – socio- economic, political, religious and cultural, technological and minister to the vulnerable and the deprived,” it said. “We commit ourselves [to] working to dismantle unjust structures in society, and in their place, help build new ones in a spirit of reconciliation, justice and peace, as our Christian faith demands,” the group further said. Apart from vowing to continue in its mission, the major superiors also vowed to “stand for the truth” amid “systematic disinformation, misinformation, (and) historical distortions” in the country.
Carpio: China’s consent not needed to enforce South China Sea ruling | PHILSTAR.COM – China does not need to recognize The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling on the West Philippine Sea (WPS) for the Philippines to enforce sovereignty in the area, retired senior associate justice Antonio Carpio said. China still refuses to honor The Hague’s ruling as “final” and “indisputable” as Beijing warned that it would respond to attempts to implement the ruling on the South China Sea arbitration. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Wednesday that “China neither accepts nor recognizes it and will never accept any claim or action based on the award.” In a landmark ruling on July 12, 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration said there was no evidence that China had exercised exclusive control historically over the South China Sea and awarded the case to the Philippines. During the 9th Virtual International Conference on South China Sea titled “Six Years After Tribunal Award: Developments in the South China (West Philippine) Sea” on Saturday, Carpio said waiting for recognition of the ruling is moot since China will never uphold the arbitral award. “To exert or enforce the arbitral award, the Philippines does not need the consent of China. The arbitral award by itself affirms the PH can exclusively exploit the national resource in the EEZ (exclusive economic zone) without interference from other coastal states,” Carpio said. China dismissed the landmark arbitral ruling that went against its expansive South China Sea claims as “nothing more than a piece of waste paper.” Carpio said China called the award just a piece of paper since they did not participate in the arbitration but China’s position has been debunked by the tribunal.
Philippines logs 14,640 COVID cases from July 11 to 17 | PHILSTAR.COM – The Philippines recorded 14,640 new COVID-19 cases—or an average of 2,091 infections a day—from July 11 to 17, the Department of Health said Monday. Infections in the Philippines rose by 44% in the last seven days, according to the agency’s latest COVID-9 bulletin. A total of 589 severe and critical patients are currently getting treatment for the respiratory disease in hospitals, representing 8.7% of the nation’s COVID-19 admissions. According to the DOH, 18.3% of 2,630 beds in intensive care units are occupied, and 23.8% of 21,809 non-ICU beds are used. The department added it verified one COVID-related fatality. The death occurred in October 2021. The Philippines has confirmed 3.7 million COVID-19 infections, with 60,641 deaths, since the pandemic started in 2020. The country is battling a renewed increase in cases, fueled by the presence of fast-spreading variants, increased mobility of the public, and waning vaccine immunity.
