News Roundup 21 January 2022
Jan 21, 2022 • 4 min Read
Recoveries surpass 3 million as 32,744 new COVID-19 cases logged | PHILSTAR.COM – The number of individuals who have recovered from COVID-19 in the Philippines exceeded three million on Friday, the Department of Health said as it recorded over 32,000 additional infections. The DOH logged 16,385 new recoveries, raising the total to 3,012,156. The agency also tallied 32,744 additional infections, pushing the COVID-19 caseload to 3,357,083. Of the newly, reported cases, 96% occurred from January 8 to 21. The regions with the highest number of additional infections during that period were Metro Manila (22%), Calabarzon (20%) and Central Luzon (13%). The number of active cases was at 291,618—a new record high. Around 95% of active cases have mild illness. The country’s death toll rose by 156 to 53,309. According to the DOH, 44% of 75,335 samples on January 19 tested positive for COVID-19, way above the threshold set by the World Health Organization. Three testing laboratories did not submit data to the department.
‘Strategic, impactful’ infrastructure among priorities for Robredo if elected | INQUIRER.NET – If elected, presidential aspirant Vice President Leni Robredo said “impactful” infrastructure projects will be among the priorities of her administration. “Infrasctructure will most definitely remain a priority but we must ensure that we are building it in a strategic, impactful manner and not just building for the sake of saying ‘we’re building’,” Robredo said during Friday’s presidential economic forum hosted by the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX) with its partners. According to Robredo, her infrastructure agenda will focus on three priority areas. “The first one is water resources management. The second one is public transport and rural development. And the third one is reconstruction of public infrastructure and housing projects in calamity-stricken areas,” she said. Explaining the first priority area, Robredo noted how the country has faced water supply problems even before the pandemic. “And while being prudent in consumption will help, the long-term [solution] really entails investing in critical infrastructure and ensuring that it is well-maintained,” she said. She said she aims to “provide clean water for all.” To do this, she stressed the need to harness available water resources and implement projects for water impounding in the country’s major rivers. “There’s already a study of how this should be done, anchored on alin sa mga rivers sa bansa natin yung pwedeng gamitin [which rivers can be used],” she said. For the second priority area, she stressed that the country’s “inefficient” mass transportation system is a “key stumbling block” to economic growth.,“Alam naman natin ang public transport matagal na natin itong problema [We know that public transport is a long-standing problem in our country]. People are stuck in traffic for hours and private cars still dominate the roads and our mass transport system remains inefficient and para sa ‘kin [for me], this is really one key stumbling block to growth,” she said. “People are wasting so much time inside their vehicles or waiting for rides, wasting valuable time that can otherwise be used more productively. So we must build with a mindset of moving people, rather than just cars,” she added. “And that is why public transport must be top of mind in any infrastructure agenda,” she further said. Furthermore, Robredo said major population centers in the Philippines, such as Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao should be decongested. She also highlighted the need to invest in digital infrastructure, especially in the countryside.
2 Nigerians, 3 Filipinos arrested for alleged ‘hacking’ of over 700 BDO accounts last December | Manila Bulletin – Two Nigerians and three Filipinos have been arrested in separate entrapment operations this week for their alleged involvement with the so-called “Mark Nagoyo” heist group that hacked over 700 accounts of Banco de Oro (BDO) depositors last December, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) announced on Friday, Jan. 21. NBI Deputy Director Ferdinand M. Lavin identified during a press conference the two arrested Nigerians as Ifesinachi Fountain Anaekwe, also known as Daddy Champ, and Chukwueweka Peter Nwadi. The three Filipinos were identified as Jherom Anthony Taupa, who has been identified by an informant as “one of the masterminds in the ‘Mark Nagoyo’ heist group,” Ronelyn Panaligan and Clay Revillosa. The NBI said in a statement that the five persons were arrested in separate entrapment operations as part of the NBI’s Cybercrime Division (NBI-CCD) investigation concerning “a massive heist involving BDO and more than 700 of its customers” last December. “According to initial reports, this group was able to access customers’ bank accounts while supposedly bypassing the One-Time-Pin (OTP) requirement and drained funds in those accounts,” the NBI said. “Email confirmations for the bulk of the illegal transfers showed that they were made by a certain Mark D. Nagoyo,” it added. The two Nigerians and Taupa have been presented for inquest before the Office of the Prosecutor General (OPG) at the Department of Justice (DOJ) in Manila.
