News Roundup 20 February 2021
Feb 20, 2021 • 4 min Read
Philippines coronavirus caseload rises to 559,288 with 2,240 new infections | PHILSTAR.COM – Another 2,240 people contracted coronavirus in the Philippines, the Department of Health said Saturday, pushing the national caseload past 559,000. DOH also recorded 239 new fatalities, the highest number of new entries in months, bringing the death toll to a grim 12,068. Of the total 559,288 confirmed cases, 34,100 or 6.1% are marked by the DOH as active. Recoveries rose to 513,120 after 504 more people were reported to have beat the respiratory disease.
US warns: China’s ‘unacceptable’ coast guard law could escalate maritime disputes | PHILSTAR.COM – The US on Saturday scored China for passing a new law that allows its coast guard to fire on foreign vessels, accusing it of putting “unacceptable pressure” on countries with claims in the South China Sea. “[T]he United States joins the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan and other countries in expressing concern with China’s recently enacted Coast Guard law, which may escalate ongoing territorial and maritime disputes,” US Department of State spokesperson Ned Price said in an audio press briefing with reporters. “We are specifically concerned by language in the law that expressly ties the potential use of force, including armed force by the China Coast Guard, to the enforcement of China’s claims in ongoing territorial and maritime disputes in the East and South China Seas.” Price added that language in the law “strongly implies” that China might use it “to intimidate the [its] maritime neighbors,” in order to “assert its unlawful maritime claims in the South China Sea.” Beijing has long refused to acknowledge the arbitral ruling that junked its claims over the resource-rich West Philippine Sea, the part of the South China Sea within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. “Our position on the [China’s] maritime claims remains aligned with the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal’s finding that China has no lawful claim in areas it found to be in the Philippines exclusive economic zone or continental shelf,” he said. “We stand firm in our respective alliance commitments to Japan and the Philippines.”
3 US senators press De Lima’s release from detention | INQUIRER.NET – Three US senators who were banned from entering the Philippines for introducing sanctions on Filipino officials responsible for the detention of Sen. Leila de Lima said on Thursday that they welcomed her acquittal on one of three drug trafficking cases but pressed the Duterte administration to release her. “While we are pleased that one of the three illegitimate charges against Sen. Leila de Lima has been dropped, it is clearly not enough,” US Senators Edward Markey, Richard Durbin and Patrick Leahy said in a joint statement. “We will continue to hold the Duterte government responsible for its abuses until Sen. De Lima is released, all of the fabricated charges against her and other prisoners of conscience are dismissed, and the victims of President Duterte’s campaign of abuse against the Filipino people have obtained justice,” they said. Markey, the top Democrat on the US Senate’s East Asia and Pacific subcommittee, posted the statement on his Twitter account, which was then retweeted by De Lima. The three were among the five US senators behind a provision in the US 2020 budget that banned entry to the United States of Filipino officials behind De Lima’s “wrongful imprisonment” on drug trading charges when she was justice secretary during the Aquino administration.
Robredo: Gov’t, sectors have shared responsibility on governance | Manila Bulletin – For Vice President Leni Robredo, good governance should be a shared responsibility of both the government and different sectors. Robredo stressed this on the sidelines of one of her meetings with the Naga City People’s Council, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. “Sana yung empowerment ng basic sectors ma-enhance para mas meaningful ‘yung participation sa governance (I hope the empowerment of basic sectors will be enhanced so the participation in governance will be more meaningful),” she said on Facebook Live in Naga. The Naga City People’s Council, which her late husband and former interior secretary Jesse Robredo established, gives people the platform to take part in the city government’s decision making process. The vice president is emulating the style of governance and leadership brand of Jesse, who laid the groundwork for people’s participation in governance in Naga where he was mayor for six terms. Robredo underscored that people empowerment has always been her personal advocacy even before she entered politics. She used to work as a lawyer for Saligan, a national alternative lawyer’s group for marginalized sectors. The vice president said she joined the consultation meetings with the Naga City People’s Council so they can make assessment on the various sectors.
Featured Photo: Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Penafrancia, Naga City, Philippines
Photo Source: By Totle12 – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21029583
