News Roundup 20 August 2020
Aug 20, 2020 • 4 min Read
Confirmed COVID-19 cases in Philippines now at 178,022 | PHILSTAR.COM – The total number of coronavirus infections in the country jumped to 178,022 Thursday after the Department of Health reported 4,339 new cases. The DOH also listed 727 new recoveries, raising the number of COVID-19 survivors to 114,114. But 88 more deaths were recorded. The nation’s fatality count stood at 2,883.
Killing of Zara Alvarez highlights dangers of red-tagging — CHR | PHILSTAR.COM – The killing of activist Zara Alvarez shows why red-tagging — labeling activists as rebels or enemies of the state — is a serious concern, the Commission on Human Rights, which has been cautioning against the practice, said. Alvarez, gunned down Monday evening in Bacolod City, led campaigns against alleged human rights violations, was an advocacy officer of a community health program, and was a paralegal of watchdog Karapatan. “The killing of Zara Alvarez is another addition to the alarming string of attacks against human rights workers and advocates in the country. The Commission on Human Rights sees this as a cause for concern, especially that the number of cases is still growing and justice is nowhere in sight,” CHR spokesperson Jacqueline De Guia said in a statement Thursday. Alvarez was reportedly included in the list of more than 600 people that the Department of Justice wanted legally declared as terrorists in 2018. De Guia noted that while her name was taken off the list, “the exclusion still did not spare her from the ultimate violation of her rights—succumbing to death after being shot.” Peace consultants Randall Echanis and Randy Malayao—whose names were also included in the proscription petition—have since also been killed.
Manila padlocks Binondo stalls selling products from ‘Manila, Province of China’ | INQUIRER.NET – The Manila government on Thursday padlocked four stalls inside a mall in Binondo selling beauty products that bear in its packaging a label that states Manila is a “province of China.” In a Facebook live, Levi Facundo, head of Manila City’s Business Permit and Licensing Office (BPLO), said such move of the company that manufactured the beauty products and the establishment to make such a claim is a “huge offensive” to residents of the capital city. “Wala pong Binondo sa China. Ang Binondo ay nasa Maynila. Malaking insulto po yun,” Facundo said. (Binondo is not in China. Binondo is in Manila. That is a big insult.)
AFP hits linking of its slain intel agent to illegal drugs | Manila Bulletin – The military on Thursday assailed the Philippine National Police (PNP) for tagging one of its slain intelligence agents in Sulu as involved in illegal drugs activities in Jolo, saying it is a poor attempt to divert the attention away from what it describes as murder of its soldiers. Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo, spokesman of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), said the illegal drugs defense of the local police is an apparent bid to justify the killing of its men who were reportedly gunned down despite being unarmed after being intercepted in a checkpoint in Sulu two months ago. “That is obviously a desperate attempt by the assailants to besmirch the reputation of Corporal (Abdal) Asula to justify or to divert the attention away from the senseless killing of the soldiers,” said Arevalo in response to the statements made by some PNP officials during a hearing at the Senate on Wednesday. “The local police are coming up with all sorts of falsities to attempt to shirk criminal, civil, and administrative responsibilities for the murder of the four AFP personnel,” he added.
PH seen as a potential market for digital banks | The Manila Times – The Philippines was tagged as having one of the largest potentials among the six major Southeast Asian markets for many aspiring digital-only lenders in the longer term. In a report released on Thursday, Fitch Ratings said that banking competition will intensify in the region as virtual banks enter the market, with regulators in the region beginning to accept applications or studying the digital bank frameworks. It underscored that the six major Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) markets – Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam – have become key fintech investment destinations for many local and overseas investors over the past few years. “Fitch continues to believe that Indonesia and the Philippines have the largest market potential among the six major Asean markets for many aspiring digital-only lenders in the longer term,” the credit ratings agency said.
