News Roundup 18 September 2021
Sep 18, 2021 • 4 min Read
DOH reports 23,134 new COVID-19 infections; active cases at 184,088 | PHILSTAR.COM – The Philippines on Saturday reported 23,134 more COVID-19 infections, the second highest daily increase in cases since the start of the pandemic. The Department of Health said the total confirmed cases in the country were 2,347,550. The country is battling a record rise in infections, driven by the hyper-contagious Delta variant.
- Active cases: 184,088 or 7.8% of the total
- Recoveries: 27,024 or, bringing total to 2,126,879
- Deaths: 255, raising toll to 36,583
In its latest bulletin, the DOH reported a positivity rate of 26% out of 73,635 tests.
Gordon retaliates, calls Duterte ‘cheap politician’ | INQUIRER.NET – “You’re a cheap politician, Mr. President, as cheap as they come.” These were the harshest words yet used by Sen. Richard Gordon against President Duterte for defending former presidential economic adviser Michael Yang and others involved in awarding government contracts worth P11.5 billion to an undercapitalized company, Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp., in 2020 and 2021. “It’s hard to support you because you don’t act like a president,” an emotional Gordon said on Friday after the President called him a corrupt “despot.” “I didn’t vote for you, Mr. President. Today, I tell you, you are not the president the Filipino people can respect,” the chair of the Senate blue ribbon committee said, lashing back at Duterte. The President had spent much of his recent televised appearances blasting the senator. He also ordered an audit of the Philippine Red Cross, a private humanitarian organization led by Gordon. Gordon is leading a Senate inquiry into the allegedly irregular transfer of at least P42 billion pesos in pandemic response fund from the Department of Health (DOH) to the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) then headed by former Budget Undersecretary Lloyd Christopher Lao. The senators were told in past hearings that part of that money was used to pay Pharmally for overpriced face masks, COVID-19 test kits and personal protective equipment, an allegation strongly denied by Malacañang, the DOH and PS-DBM. At one point during Friday’s hearing, Gordon choked back tears as he read a message from his daughter who was scared about the possible consequences of what he was doing and saddened that ordinary Filipinos may no longer care about the fight against corruption as they are burdened daily by pressing needs to overcome their poverty. “Are you getting burned?” Gordon said, addressing the President. “The truth, Mr. President, does not mind being questioned. Only liars mind. They don’t want to be challenged by questions they find hard to answer. They can’t answer, so they have someone answering for them—Attorney Duterte. He’s lawyering for them,” he said.
CHR joins call for extension of voter registration | Manila Bulletin – With quarantine restrictions due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to extend voter registration to enable more Filipinos to exercise their right to suffrage. The Comelec’s voter registration is set to end on Sept. 30, and no extension has been announced so far. “Together with the Senate, Congress, and other civil society organizations, the Commission on Human Rights joins the call to extend the deadline of voter registration in the Philippines,” CHR spokesperson Jacqueline Ann de Guia said in a statement. “The ongoing implementation of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and modified ECQ in many locations around the country due to Covid-19 puts a lot of toll and delays in the whole voter registration process in the country,” she noted. De Guia said the CHR understands that the proposed extension may further delay the preparatory activities of the poll body, but she stressed that eligible voters must be given the opportunity to register safely and to avoid any case of voter disenfranchisement.
Sandigan upholds arrest order vs Faeldon | PHILSTAR.COM – The arrest warrant issued by the Sandiganbayan against former Bureau of Customs (BOC) chief Nicanor Faeldon remains valid, following the recent junking of his motion to have his 2017 graft case dismissed. In its 37-page resolution promulgated on Sept. 16, the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division denied “for lack of merit” Faeldon’s urgent omnibus motion for the recall of the arrest warrant against him and the dismissal of his two counts of violation of Section 3 (e) of Republic Act 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. His graft case stems from the BOC’s release of P34 million worth of smuggled Vietnamese rice from the Port of Cagayan de Oro in 2017. The complaint was filed before the ombudsman by Sen. Panfilo Lacson.
