News Roundup 21 June 2020
Jun 21, 2020 • 3 min Read
DOH: COVID-19 cases in PH breach 30K mark | INQUIRER.NET –The total number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients in the Philippines has breached the 30,000 mark the Department of Health (DOH) said on Sunday. DOH explained that an increase of 653 cases reported Sunday — 415 of which are fresh cases or newly-reported patients while 238 are from the case backlog – brought the number of cases to 30,052. There were also 19 additional deaths recorded, bringing the number of deaths in the country because of the pandemic to 1,169. Recoveries from the disease are currently at 7,893.
‘Recovery slowest in Philippines’ | PHILSTAR.COM – Economic recovery in the Philippines will likely be among the slowest in Asia because of prolonged lockdowns and the continued rise in the number of cases of the coronavirus disease 2019, according to London-based Capital Economics. In a recent research brief, Capital Economics said high-frequency data such as mobility data from Google and Apple and daily figures on tourism arrivals and electricity usage suggest that recovery is much faster in China, Taiwan and Vietnam but will be slowest in the Philippines, Indonesia and India. The macroeconomy research firm said hard activity data such as retail sales, industrial production, and ultimately gross domestic product provide the most complete picture of output and activity but come with a long delay.
Sen. Pangilinan: Gov’t must address needs of fathers rendered jobless by the pandemic | Manila Bulletin – Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan on Sunday, June 21, urged the government to address the needs of fathers who were rendered jobless by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Pangilinan made the call as the nation celebrates Father’s Day, saying the government needs to urgently address the problems of hunger and job security among the “padre de pamilya” by jumpstarting the economy. “Dapat sana ay masaya ang Father’s Day, pero sa harap ng pandemya at sa makupad, kulang, at palpak na pagharap ng gobyerno sa problemang ito, patong-patong ang hirap at pasakit na nararamdaman ng maraming Pilipino, kabilang na ang mga tatay (Father’s Day is supposed to be a happy day, but amid the pandemic and the slow, inadequate response of the government to this problem, Filipinos, especially fathers, are experiencing so much problems and difficulties),” he said. Pangilinan pointed out that the lockdown is almost 100 days, and ordinary Filipinos and their basic concerns have largely been ignored by the government in the ongoing health and economic crisis.
CoA: No proof PhilHealth incurred P154B in losses | The Manila Times – The Commission on Audit (CoA) said it did not find evidence that the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) incurred losses amounting to P154 billion. In a letter submitted to PhilHealth President and Chief Executive Officer Ricardo Morales last June 10, the Audit commission confirmed that the financial statements for the last five years reflected no such losses. “The alleged losses… did not appear on the published CoA Annual Audit Reports on PhilHealth,” the commission noted. Morales requested the government auditing agency to do a special audit after reports surfaced last year that the insurer sustained losses from overpayments or fraud. Morales said he had been trying to uncover such losses since the start of his term as president, welcoming investigations from different agencies such as CoA, the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission and the National Bureau of Investigation. PhilHealth Vice President for Corporate Affairs Dr. Shirley Domingo added in a text message that other agencies have not reported yet the findings of their own probes into extensive fraud in the corporation.
