News Roundup 23 September 2021
Sep 23, 2021 • 4 min Read
Philippines logs 17,411 new COVID-19 cases | PHILSTAR.COM – Health authorities on Thursday posted 17,411 more coronavirus cases to bring the country’s overall count to 2,434,753. The new figures today brought the active cases up by 3,210 from the 162,580 on September 22. The Department of Health said three laboratories did not turn in screening results.
- Active cases: 165,790 or 6.8% of the total
- Recoveries: 14,090, bringing the number to 2,231,558
- Deaths: 177, or now 37,405 in total
Metro Manila’s COVID-19 reproduction number down to 0.99 — OCTA | PHILSTAR.COM – The reproduction number in Metro Manila and some areas in the country continues to improve, the OCTA Research said on Thursday OCTA Research fellow Guido David said the reproduction number in the capital region decreased to 0.99 from 1.03 reported on Tuesday, signaling the beginning of the “recovery process.” The figure refers to the number of persons an individual positive for COVID-19 can infect. Ideally, the reproduction number needs to be less than 1. David also said the seven-day average of cases in the region was 4,674, down by 20% from last week’s 5,839. “We are seeing the effects of granular lockdown. We haven’t seen a spike in cases yet,” the OCTA fellow said in Filipino. “This means our interventions that aim to bring down the number of cases continue to be effective. We’re hoping this will continue until the end of the year,” he added. Decline in reproduction number was also seen in other areas: Cavite (0.87), Laguna (0.90), Bulacan (0.86), Cebu City (0.66) and Davao City (0.99). The Philippines has so far reported over 2.4 million COVID-19 cases, including 37,228 deaths, since the start of the pandemic. Of the total, 6.7% are active cases.
Issuance of voter’s certification suspended on Sept. 27-30 — Comelec | INQUIRER.NET – The issuance of voter’s certification in all Offices of the Election Officer (OEOs) will be suspended from September 27 to 30 to focus on the last week of voter registration, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Thursday. The suspension of the voter’s certification issuance will take effect in all OEOs including barangay and mall registration sites where Comelec satellite offices are placed. “The Commission anticipates an influx of last-minute registrants as we get closer to the deadline. And given the limited number of field personnel, we must endeavor to make the full use of our limited manpower and resources in catering to applicants for voter registration,” Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said in a statement. The issuance of voter’s certification in the main office in Intramuros, Manila, meanwhile, will remain operational. Registered voters may get a voter’s certification at Comelec’s National Central File Division satellite office in Intramuros. Those seeking to apply for a voter’s certification must present one valid identification card (ID) and submit a photocopy of the same ID. The applicant must pay a fee of P75. However, senior citizens, persons with disability, members of the indigenous peoples and indigenous cultural communities, and solo parents will not be charged for voter’s certification. On the other hand, an authorized representative may apply for the certification if the applicant cannot personally do so. The representative must bring an authorization letter, present a valid ID and photocopy of the same ID.
‘Our right to information should be respected:’ La Salle schools hit Ombudsman for refusal to release Duterte SALN | Manila Bulletin – Educational institutions under the De La Salle Philippines hit Ombudsman Samuel Martires after denying the public access to President Duterte’s statement o assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN), underscoring that the public’s right information should be “respected, protected, and generally remain unbridled.” Martires recently drew flak after pushing for jail time of five years for anyone who “makes a comment” on the SALN of government personnel. Since 2019, various groups and media organizations have been working to access the SALN of Duterte from 2018 onward. In a statement, De La Salle institutions said the statements of the Ombudsman and the President “manifest their betrayal of their own sworn duty to preserve and defend the Constitution.” “We are aghast at the insults and intimidation that the President has hurdled against members of a co-equal branch who are investigating an allegedly corruption-riddled transaction,” its statement read. “The President has unjustly railed against an independent constitutional body that is required to assess the efficiency and effectiveness in the operations of all national and local government agencies.” They also urged Congress to continue investigating all transactions of the Executive branch and called on the youth to “stand as one in upholding the truth and to keep the passion in seeking it for social justice, human dignity, and the respect for democratic rights.” “We underscore the pursuit of truth, which demands transparency and accountability in public service. We believe that our right to information should be respected, protected, and generally remain unbridled. If we are to breathe life back to our de-democratizing polity, we must re-enliven the public’s trust in our institutions, and such can only happen if the government remains open and transparent.”
