News Roundup 23 June 2021
Jun 23, 2021 • 4 min Read
4,353 new COVID-19 cases in Philippines bring total to 1.37 million | PHILSTAR.COM – Health authorities on Wednesday said 4,353 more Filipinos contracted the COVID-19, bringing the total count of infections to 1,372,232. Today’s development saw active cases down by 2,834 from June 22’s 52,696. The Department of Health said six laboratories were not able to submit testing results.
- Active cases: 49,862 or 3.6% of the total
- Recoveries: 7,139, bringing the number to 1,298,442
- Deaths: 119, or now 23,928 in total
Sotto, Hontiveros question government insistence on requiring face shields | PHILSTAR.COM – Two senators have questioned the pandemic task force’s requirement to wear face shields on top of face masks despite what they called the lack of scientific basis for the policy. This follows the confusion surrounding the mandatory wearing of face shields throughout the last week, with President Rodrigo Duterte finally deciding on Monday to retain their use both indoors and outdoors. The president’s decision was announced on the same day his spokesman said that the policy would no longer apply when individuals are outside. “It is clear from studies that the use of face shields should be optional,” Sen. Risa Hontiveros said Wednesday in a video message delivered in Filipino. “Face shields are effective for specific settings, such as jobs that have close contact with their clients or when traveling on public transport where it is often congested,” she added. “But to insist on their general public use, that is no longer right.” “I don’t know where the administration’s enthusiasm to force us all to wear face shields comes from,” Hontiveros also said. Senate President Vicente Sotto III, meanwhile, said documents submitted by the Department of Health to the upper chamber cite studies that are “not conclusive” on whether using face shields on top of face masks offers added protection from coronavirus.
NCIP orders hydropower plant firm in Benguet to stop operating | INQUIRER.NET – The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) in the Cordillera has issued a cease-and-desist order (CDO) to the operator of three hydroelectric power plants in Benguet province. In a June 22 order, Marlon Bosantog, director of NCIP in the Cordillera, directed Hedcor Inc. “to wind up and install safety protocols” in the three plants. Bosantog gave Hedcor five days to completely cease operation upon receipt of the CDO. The CDO would remain effective until the company secures a Certification Precondition (CP) from the indigenous people communities, where Hedcor’s plants are situated, Bosantog said. The CP is a certificate that NCIP issues to attest that the concerned indigenous community has given its free prior and informed consent (FPIC). On June 7, the NCIP issued a notice of violation to Hedcor for the continued operations of the three plants without the Bakun people’s consent. Bosantog said Hedcor has been violating the rights of the indigenous people of Bakun to their ancestral domain under the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act. He cited a resolution of nonconsent issued by Bakun Indigenous Tribes Organizations and town elders recently that blocks Hedcor from running its hydropower plants in their ancestral land. Bosantog said the company failed to obtain FPIC from the IP community in the town as prescribed by the law.
No law yet to punish one’s refusal to get COVID-19 vaccination – IBP | Manila Bulletin – Those who refuse the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination cannot be arrested, Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) President Domingo Egon Q. Cayosa said on Wednesday, June 23. Cayosa reacted to President Duterte’s threat that those who refuse vaccinations will be jailed. He said that since there is no law yet punishing persons who refuse to be vaccinated, “there is no legal basis for arrest.” Last Tuesday, June 22, Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra said the President has no intention of jailing those who refuse to get vaccinated. “I believe that the President merely used strong words to drive home the need for us to get vaccinated and reach herd immunity as soon as possible,” her said. “As a lawyer he knows that not getting vaccinated is a legal choice; and there is no law as yet that compels vaccination against COVID-19, much less criminalizes it, as presently available, vaccines are still in their trial phases,” he stressed.
Photo Source: CTTO
