News Roundup 23 January 2021
Jan 23, 2021 • 4 min Read
Coronavirus cases in the Philippines climb to 511,679 with 1,797 new infections | PHILSTAR.COM – The Department of Health on Saturday logged 1,797 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the national caseload to 511,679. Of the total number of cases recorded, the DOH has marked 33,603— or 6.6% — as active. Another 166 people were reported to have beat the virus, bringing total recoveries to 467,886. But the death toll hit 10,190 after 54 more fatalities were logged by the DOH.
New coronavirus variant in Philippines as early as December 10 | PHILSTAR.COM – The new coronavirus variant, B.1.1.7, which is feared to be more infectious, has been in the country over a month before the Department of Health reported the first case of the mutated virus, but experts affiliated with DOH insist that the country was still early to detect the new variant. DOH Epidemiology Bureau director Alethea De Guzman told a media briefing on Saturday that samples from one of the 16 new B.1.1.7 cases reported late Friday evening by the DOH were collected on Dec. 10, 2020, four days before the United Kingdom, where the new variant was first identified, reported the mutation to the World Health Organization. The DOH only reported the first case of the new coronavirus variant on January 13 in a 29-year-old real estate agent who arrived in the country on January 7 from a business trip in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Despite the one-month lag, experts in the DOH’s technical advisory group said that the country was still early to identify the new variant. “We’re not late in identifying the variant,” said John Wong, founder of private research firm EpiMetrics. “If you compare ourselves with the UK, which was the first country to identify it … it took them nearly three months to detect it.”
UP president challenges AFP claim on Reds’ campus infiltration | INQUIRER.NET – University of the Philippines (UP) president Danilo Concepcion on Saturday said the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) allegation that some of the university’s colleges, units and offices have condoned the “infiltration” of communist rebels lacks evidence and serves as an unnecessary distraction. “The UP administration is unaware of and has received no specifics regarding these recent allegations and the circumstances surrounding them,” Concepcion said in a statement posted on the university’s official website. Concepcion added that the UP community is willing to sit down with authorities to discuss the facts, as well as to cooperate with them “ through the proper legal procedures for their resolution.” “As it stands now, these allegations, lacking as yet any factual evidence, serve as unnecessary distractions for both UP and the AFP at a time when there are far greater crises, including a global pandemic, confronting us,” the UP president said.
Comelec to voters: ‘Register to vote’; bring your own ballpen’ | Manila Bulletin – Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Rowena Guanzon urged the public to register to vote for the upcoming 2022 elections. In a tweet, Guanzon said the Comelec is behind its target of four million new voter registrants. “Wear face masks and shield, bring your own ballpen and go to COMELEC. We have alcohol,” she wrote. Guanzon said the poll body has recorded 1,117,528 voter applicants as of January 14. Comelec resumed its voter registration on January 4. Voting registration is from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. from Mondays to Thursdays.
Police ‘negligence’ cited in Dacera case | The Manila Times – PHILIPPINE National Police chief Gen. Debold Sinas on Friday said the police were negligent in handling Christine Angelica Dacera case. According to Sinas, such findings were submitted by the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM). “‘Yun mga investigators siguro ang initial findings ng DIDM ay may negligence sila when they handled the case (Based on the initial findings of the DIDM, the investigators had negligence when they handled the case),” Sinas said in a television interview. Sinas also said part of the recommendation is that the chief of the Makati Police had participation in the negligent handling of the case. “Yes, part sa recommendation sa chief of police ay talagang may kamalian siya sa pag-handle ng kaso tapos ‘yung pag-file kaagad niya ng kaso na medyo kulang ng ebidensya (Yes, part of the recommendation is that the chief of police has lapses in handling the case, and the pieces of evidence immediately submitted were quite insufficient), “ Sinas explained.
