News Roundup 20 April 2022
Apr 20, 2022 • 4 min Read
Pacquiao: Attacks, calls to withdraw not on agenda of Easter Sunday presser | PHILSTAR.COM – Sen. Manny Pacquiao on Wednesday said he was surprised at how the Easter Sunday joint conference by presidential candidates turned out, saying the plan was to make a call for unity, and for clean and honest elections. Pacquiao was named as a signatory in the joint statement that he, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso and former Arroyo Cabinet member Norberto Gonzales were not withhdrawing from the presidential race and would work together against poll fraud. “Ang press con na ‘yun hindi naman ‘yun pag-atake ng ibang mga kandidato. ‘Yung press con na ‘yun [ay para] sa pagkakaisa na magkaroon ng malinis, honest na halalan at magkaroon ng pagtutulungan doon sa isang adhikain na paano natin matulungan ang ating kababayan, paunlarin ang bansa natin, at solusyunan lahat ng problema,” Pacquiao was quoted as saying in an interview transcript provided by his camp. (The press con was not meant to attack other candidates. The press con was supposed to be for unity to achieve clean and honest elections, to attain the objective of helping our countrymen, help the development of our country, and solve the nation’s problems.) “Wala sa usapan ‘yung manira tayo ng tao, magsasabing mag-withdraw ka… Ako inaasahan ko naman na tatakbo lahat, walang magwi-withdraw. Unexpected ‘yung mga sinabi doon,” he added. (We did not agree to speak ill of other candidates or call for their withdrawal from the elections… I expect everyone to finish the race. The statements there were unexpected.)
Top Central Visayas students declare support for Leni, Kiko | INQUIRER.NET – Members of the Outstanding Students of Central Visayas or TOSPians have declared their support for Vice President and presidential candidate Leni Robredo and her running mate Senator Francis Pangilinan. “We are expressing this statement of support in our capacity as individuals whose lives were changed, and values realigned in our respective immersion in the communities that we serve,” they said in a statement. “How we view and how we experience leadership as student leaders and as professionals are manifested by Leni Robredo. Her vocal vehement contentions against the controversial policies of the current administration prove her genuine love and concern for the last, the least, and the littlest,” they added. The TOSPians said the persecutions from the Duterte administration did not stop Robredo from fulfilling and even going beyond her expected duties and responsibilities. “We reaffirm our commitment to building the nation the way our heroes have dreamed of in exchange for their lives. We reaffirm our commitment to fight for what is right, what is just, and what is deserved by everyone,” they said. “Our commitment since our student leader days up until now has been and will always be to the Filipino people. A vote for Leni and Kiko is a vote for a better and inclusive Philippines,” they added. Robredo and Pangilinan were set to hold a grand rally on Thursday, April 21, in Mandaue City, Cebu.
Order for all teachers to be in class baffling as students still on online modes | INQUIRER.NET –“Counterproductive.” This was how public school teachers described the Department of Education (DepEd) Memorandum No. 29, s. 2022 which required 100 percent onsite work in all DepEd offices in areas under Alert Level 1. Last Tuesday (April 19), public school teachers, led by the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), protested the “onerous” DepEd order and the “lack of democratic consultations”. ACT-National Capital Region (NCR) said the DepEd has been silent on the issues that the teachers’ group raised even before the order came out, saying that the department proceeded to implement it amid opposition. The DepEd, however, said the order was in compliance with Malacañang’s Memorandum Circular No. 96, which said that under Alert Level 1, 100 percent of employees in all government offices should physically report for work. With DepEd’s Memorandum No. 29, or the Work Arrangements in the DepEd under the Imposition of Alert Level 1 System for COVID-19 Response, the required onsite reporting capacity is 100 percent for all of its offices. The DepEd said it was an opportunity to improve the implementation of multiple learning delivery modalities, through a more efficient supervision and monitoring of the proper use of learning modules and online media. The order, Education Secretary Leonor Briones said, will apply to all teaching and non-teaching personnel in all offices, schools and community learning centers, whether the school is having face-to-face classes or distance learning.
