News Roundup 25 August 2021
Aug 25, 2021 • 5 min Read
Philippines sees 13,573 new COVID-19 cases | PHILSTAR.COM – Health authorities on Wednesday logged 13,573 more coronavirus cases to bring the country’s caseload to 1,883,088. Today’s numbers saw active cases down by 2,325 from the 127,703 on August 24. The Department of Health said seven laboratories did not submit test results.
- Active cases: 125,378 or 6.7% of the total
- Recoveries: 15,820, bringing the number to 1,725,218
- Deaths: 228, or now 32,492 in total
Duterte raising past COA reports on Aquino admin ‘a clear case of misdirection’ — De Lima | PHILSTAR.COM – Detained Sen. Leila De Lima on Wednesday accused President Rodrigo Duterte of attempting to “misdirect” criticism of his own government by digging up Commission on Audit reports on the interior and justice departments under the previous administration. Duterte during a pre-recorded address aired late Tuesday night revived allegations that the Department of Justice under De Lima in 2013 had unliquidated cash advances amounting to P617.44 million. The same allegation was carried by news outlets years prior and was disputed by the DOJ at the time, which said nearly all cash advances had already been liquidated as of 2014. The president also raised that state auditors flagged fund transfers worth P7 billion that were not liquidated by the Department of the Interior and Local Government led by Mar Roxas in 2013. Roxas’ camp at the time is quoted in several news reports as saying the funds were unliquidated because the DILG’s projects were still being implemented. “For someone who cannot even publicly disclose and release his own SALN, Duterte’s accusation against me and Sec. Mar Roxas regarding COA’s past reports on our agencies is just plain rich in irony and hypocrisy,” De Lima said in a handwritten dispatch from Camp Crame where she is currently detained. She further called Duterte’s remarks “a clear case of misdirection,” challenging the president to file cases with the Ombudsman arising from the same COA reports. “[Duterte] cannot [file a case] because those accounts have long been settled and closed. The COA knows that,” she added. “That is why no further cases were made out of those reports, and that is why Duterte, with all his penchant for filing fabricated cases against me, was not able to fabricate a case out of those COA reports.” “Besides, neither I nor Sec. Mar Roxas threatened the COA after those reports were released,” De Lima added, drawing a comparison with Duterte’s who recently cursed at state auditors and instructed them to stop flagging agencies and publishing reports. “Walang nagsisigaw sa aming dalawa sa telebisyon na winarak kami ng COA (Neither of us have screamed on television that COA destroyed us),” she also said, poking at Health Secretary Duque III’s outburst during a House hearing. De Lima further said that she, along with other members of the late President Benigno Aquino III’s Cabinet, “always took COA reports seriously, corrected whatever deficiencies were identified in those reports, and acted accordingly to comply with COA recommendations.”
Robredo goes on quarantine after OVP staffer tests positive for COVID-19 | INQUIRER.NET – Vice President Leni Robredo is currently on self-quarantine after being exposed to a member of her office staff who tested positive for COVID-19. In a statement on Wednesday, Robredo said that she opted to go on quarantine despite following the health protocols of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) as she was in very close contact with the female staff member. “I have been exposed to somebody from our office who tested positive for Covid today. While we have been religiously following health protocols, I was a very close contact,” Robredo said in her personal Facebook account. “I started my quarantine yesterday after she developed symptoms. Because of this, I need to continue with my quarantine,” she added. The Vice President said she will wait until Monday, the 7th day since exposure before taking an RT-PCR test. For now, Robredo said that she will have to cancel other activities while she is on quarantine. “Following current protocols, I will submit myself to RT PCR testing on Monday, which is the 7th day after my last exposure. The same protocols state that even if I test negative, I need to continue my quarantine until the 14th day from my last exposure,” she said. “Unfortunately, I need to have myself excused in the activities I have committed myself to. Apologies to everyone who may be affected by this. I will continue to work from home during the entire period,” she explained.
CHR reiterates plea to SC: ‘Nullify Anti-Terrorism Act’ | Manila Bulletin – The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has reiterated its plea to the Supreme Court (SC) for the nullification of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) of 2020 that “violate international human rights principles.” ATA, under Republic Act No. 11479, has been challenged in 37 petitions filed with the SC which conducted oral arguments. Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo had said that the SC is expected to resolve the petitions before Dec. 31, 2021. In pleading for the nullification of ATA, the CHR voiced its concern that the law may be misused to target dissenters, critics of the government, civil society organizations, human rights defenders, journalists, minority groups, labor activists, indigenous peoples, and members of the political opposition. It pointed out several provisions in the law that violate human rights and freedoms of assembly and expression, and right to privacy, among other constitutionally-enshrined rights. It its pleading filed with the SC, the CHR said it “expressed its views as to the unconstitutionality of the law and its non-conformity with international human rights principles.” It said it stressed in its brief that the law violates the right to freedom of expression and opinion, the right to due process, and the right to presumption of innocence.
