News Roundup 25 January 2022
Jan 25, 2022 • 4 min Read
Philippines logs 17,677 more COVID-19 infections; active cases at 247K | PHILSTAR.COM – The Department of Health on Tuesday registered 17,677 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the country’s total number of infections to 3,459,646. Cases are usually low every Tuesday because of fewer tests done over the weekend. Of the newly-reported cases, 97% occurred from January 12 to 25. The regions with the highest number of additional infections during that period were Calabarzon (2,629), Metro Manila (2,570), and Central Luzon (2,266). The country’s death toll rose by 79 to 53,598, while recoveries increased by 33,144 to 3,158,597. The number of active cases was down to 247,451, of which 95% had mild illness. According to the DOH, 37.2% of 43,874 samples on January 23 tested positive for COVID-19, way above the threshold set by the World Health Organization. Six testing laboratories did not submit data to the agency.
Presidential interviews showed ‘different Leni’ | INQUIRER.NET – The first televised presidential interviews for the 2022 elections not only gave the opposition momentum to broaden its base, but also energized an otherwise lethargic voter base itching to get out of the pandemic, a political scientist said on Monday. This developed after Vice President Leni Robredo showed a strong performance during GMA7’s “The Jessica Soho Presidential interviews,” where she and her fellow presidential candidates Senators Panfilo Lacson and Manny Pacquiao and Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso were asked to explain their vision should they be elected to country’s highest post. In an interview, University of the Philippines-Diliman associate professor and political scientist Jean Encinas-Franco said Robredo “did not just articulate the issues she would be focusing on, she also articulated the failures of government.” The interviews also showed a different Robredo, she noted. Where before Robredo was often technocratic about her platforms and plans, this time she was more “sincere and conversational, and was able to laymanize the things that she wanted to do for the country.” Her answers to questions about governance and transparency, Franco added, showed that a Robredo presidency would be “consultative, participative, [and] that she would seek solutions from the people themselves.” “[The interview] was a good opportunity for Robredo and a missed opportunity for [former Sen. Ferdinand] Marcos Jr.,” Franco noted, referring to the late dictator’s son’s absence from the first televised presidential interviews.
Pacquiao to have brother explain reported support for Sara VP bid | PHILSTAR.COM – Presidential aspirant Manny Pacquiao said he has summoned his brother House Deputy Speaker Ruel Pacquiao (Sarangani) over reports that he has expressed support for Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio’s vice-presidential bid. Pacquiao is running for president alongside Rep. Lito Atienza (Buhay party-list). “I have already summoned my brother Ruel to personally explain the truth behind the press release issued by Lakas-CMD claiming that he and Sarangani Governor Steve Solon have thrown their support for Mayor Sara Duterte,” Pacquiao said in a statement Tuesday. The senator said his brother, who is the representative of Sarangani’s lone district, did not consult him about the move. “Bilang pamilya at bilang magkapatid ay kailangan naming magkaisa upang matiyak na tuloy-tuloy ang labang Pacquiao-Atienza,” he said, referring to his tandem with Rep. Lito Atienza (Buhay Party-List). (As siblings, we need to unite to ensure the fight of Pacquiao-Atienza will continue) The retired boxing icon, who is running under the Progressive Movement for the Devolution of Initiatives (PROMDI), stressed that Atienza has his full support. In a statement issued Monday, Lakas-CMD said that Duterte-Carpio, the party’s vice-presidential bet, met with local leaders from Sarangani. In the meeting, the younger Pacquiao reportedly expressed his support for Duterte-Carpio.
De Lima slams barbaric killing of woman in Davao del Sur | Manila Bulletin – Opposition Senator Leila de Lima on Tuesday condemned the reported torture and barbaric killing of a woman whose body was recently found floating near a beach in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur. De Lima, a vocal critic of the Duterte administration, said such death highlights the reigning culture of violence and abuses in the country tolerated and encouraged by the present leadership. The senator said police authorities should get to the bottom of the woman’s case and prosecute the perpetrator of the crime. “Enero pa lang at parami na naman nang parami ang mga pinapaslang (It’s only January and the number of persons being killed are increasing),” De Lima noted in a statement. “Authorities should leave no stone unturned in finding the victim’s killer, lest we want to embolden the perpetrators to further ‘kill, kill, kill’ because they can easily get away with murder,” she said. Last Jan. 24, authorities confirmed that a woman believed to have been tortured was found lifeless and floating near a beach in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur last week. Police said the victim’s body was found hogtied from her neck to her limbs with nylon rope and black twine, while connected to a water container with cement serving as anchor. According to police, the woman also sustained a long laceration on her stomach while her face looked like it was struck using a hard object. Authorities are still trying to establish her identity and possible motive for the killing. “This reported torture and killing of a woman is one of its worst forms. Appalling and unacceptable!” De Lima emphasized.
