News Roundup 25 September 2020
Sep 25, 2020 • 3 min Read
Coronavirus infections in Philippines past 299,000 | PHILSTAR.COM – The country now has 299,361 confirmed climb coronavirus cases as the Department of Health reported 2,630 additional infections Friday, 61,766 were considered active cases. Researchers studying the coronavirus outbreak in the Philippines earlier projected that the Philippines would have 310,000 to 330,000 total COVID-19 cases by the end of the month. The number of COVID-19 survivors increased by 494 to 232,399. But 69 more fatalities were reported, pushing the death toll to 5,196.
Lawyers thumb down proposal to postpone 2022 elections over COVID-19 fears | PHILSTAR.COM – Veteran lawyers on Friday shot down the proposal to consider postponing the 2022 national elections due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Elections lawyer Romulo Macalintal, in a statement, said on Friday: “Our law is very clear that elections could only be postponed in case of violence, terrorism or destruction of poll records which would make it impossible to conduct a clean and credible election.” “Thus, it is still very premature to think of postponement of polls with about one and a half years before the election,” he added. Veteran rights lawyer Chel Diokno, however, pointed out that other countries found ways to hold safe elections even in the middle of COVID-19 crisis. Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, meanwhile, pointed out that Comelec cannot postpone the elections if the law is not amended—and if such proposal reaches them at the Senate, he said they would block it.
DOST: WHO Solidarity Trial for COVID-19 vaccine in PH may start December | INQUIRER.NET – The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Solidarity Trial of potential COVID-19 vaccines in the Philippines would likely start in December, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said Friday. DOST Secretary Fortunato Dela Peña said the Philippines can only begin recruiting patients to participate in the trials after WHO releases the vaccines and protocols. This could occur by October, he noted. “The fastest may be that we can start in December, last quarter,” Dela Peña said in an online media forum. Citing experts, he said that vaccine trials could range from three to six months. Thus, the earliest possible availability of a COVID-19 vaccine will be in the second quarter of 2021. “The very early forecast of the second quarter of 2021 is still the best forecast that we can give,” the DOST chief said.
Seek support of other countries to assert arbitral ruling, ex-DFA chief urges Duterte | Manila Bulletin – Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario on Friday reiterated his appeal to President Duterte to get the support of other countries to pressure China to comply with the arbitral ruling on the South China Sea. In a statement, Del Rosario also chided Palace spokesman Harry Roque for questioning his qualifications for suggesting that the President should put in reality his invocation of the arbitral award at the 75th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) by rallying the support of other countries in enforcing the July 12, 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague against China. “When China, in flagrant violation of international law was bullying our President with threats of war, where was the Palace spokesperson?” the former DFA chief said. The former top diplomat, who also served as ambassador to the United States under the Arroyo administration, further said his suggestion is about the protection of the country’s coral reef systems and breeding grounds of fish which took thousands of years to form and, in a short span of time, destroyed by China to construct its military facilities and artificial islands in the Spratlys.
Julia Barretto files complaint vs Jay Sonza over pregnancy rumors | The Manila Times – Popular actress Julia Barretto personally filed a formal complaint against former broadcaster Jay Sonza on Friday afternoon at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Cybercrime Division, for claiming she is pregnant and that the father is fellow ABS-CBN actor Gerald Anderson. Accompanied by her mother Marjorie, Barretto asked the NBI to investigate “untrue and irresponsible statements” made by Sonza on his social media account.
