News Roundup 18 November 2020
Nov 18, 2020 • 4 min Read
DOH: PH COVID-19 cases reach 412,097 with 1,383 new infections | INQUIRER.NET – The total number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the Philippines reached 412,097 after an additional 1,383 infections were recorded, according to the Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday. The DOH, in its daily COVID-19 bulletin, also reported 143 new recoveries and 95 additional deaths, bringing the total to 374,666 and 7,957, respectively. Of the total number of cases, 29,474 are active cases, accounting for 7.2 percent of the total tally.
Anti-Terror Law’s first hit: Two Aetas from Zambales – group | INQUIRER.NET – Two Aetas from Zambales are the first persons known to be charged under the Republic Act 11479 or Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 for allegedly engaging in a shooting spree that killed a soldier last August. This was revealed in a manifestation by the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), counsel for the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) which filed a petition against the new anti-terror law before the Supreme Court. According to NUPL, Japer Gurung and Junior Ramos were arrested while evacuating with their families from their ancestral land in Sitio Lumibao, Barangay Buhawen, San Marcelino, Zambales, due to continuous military operations. The group said the two are charged before the Olongapo Regional Trial Court and detained at the Olongapo City Jail. In its manifestation submitted to the high court, NUPL attached and cited the charge sheet signed by Associate Provincial Prosecutor Ritchie John Distor Bolaño that states the two are specifically charged for violating Section 4 (a) of the anti-terror law which punishes a person who “engages in acts intended to cause death or serious bodily injury to any person, or endangers a person’s life.” NUPL said the prosecutor noted that the acts of Gurung and Ramos have also caused “intimidation to the general public, spreading a message of fear and seriously undermining public safety.”
Robredo lawyers ask SC to look into possible Calida, Marcos collusion | PHILSTAR.COM – The legal team of Vice President Leni Robredo asked the Presidential Electoral Tribunal to look into the possible collusion between Solicitor General Jose Calida and former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. who both moved, in “eerily similar” but unrelated motions, to inhibit Associate Justice Marvic Leonen in the poll protest. In a 31-page Urgent Omnibus Motion obtained by Philstar.com, Robredo’s lawyers urged the Supreme Court sitting as PET to conduct an immediate investigation into the possible collusion between Marcos, Calida, 19 other assistant solicitor generals and Manila Times reporter Jomar Canlas “in besmirching the reputation of the Member-in-Charge.” The pleading was filed on Tuesday, the same day that the PET unanimously junked Calida’s and Marcos’ two separate motions to keep Leonen out of the poll protest proceedings.
Robredo: Let’s all focus first on recent calamities, leave 2022 polls behind | Manila Bulletin – Vice President Leni Robredo on Wednesday said now is the time to be united and not talk about 2022 elections because of the recent calamities that badly hit the country. “2020 pa lang ngayon, ang presidential elections is far away. Dalawang taon pa (It is just 2020 now, the presidential elections is far away. We still have two more years),” she told CNN Philippines’ News Night. “And history will tell us, ang daming pwedeng mangyari. Hindi nga natin alam kung kakandidato pa ako (many things could happen. We even don’t know if I would be running),” she said. The vice president maintained she has no plans to seek the highest post in the land, especially now that the country is faced with calamities and the coronavirus pandemic. Robredo recalled that her first candidacy for Congress was last minute. The same thing happened when she was elected in office as vice president in 2016. “Hindi ba pwedeng magtulong-tulungan na lang tayo? Kung maglaban-laban tayo sa eleksyon, pagkatapos na nitong lahat. Ang dami-dami pa nangangailangan ng tulong natin (Is it possible if we just help each other? If we will be fighting each other in the elections, we could do that when everything is over. There are still many people in need of our help),” she said.
‘No time for complacency’: WHO says ‘many questions’ remain about COVID vaccines | Malaya Business Insight – GENEVA. The World Health Organization (WHO) welcomed Moderna reporting on Monday that its experimental vaccine showed 94.5% efficacy but said that “many questions” remained and it was no time for complacency. Only very limited amounts of any vaccine will be available in the first half of 2021 for people other than priority health workers, WHO officials said. “While we continue to receive encouraging news about COVID-19 vaccines and remain cautiously optimistic about the potential for new tools to start to arrive in coming months, right now we are extremely concerned by the surge in cases we are seeing in some countries, particularly in Europe and the Americas,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news briefing. Moderna Inc’s experimental vaccine is 94.5% effective in preventing COVID-19 based on interim data from a late-stage trial, the company said on Monday, becoming the second US drugmaker to report results that far exceed expectations. Together with Pfizer Inc’s vaccine, which is also more than 90% effective, and pending more safety data and regulatory review, the United States could have two vaccines authorized for emergency use in December with as many as 60 million doses of vaccine available this year.
