News Roundup 27 November 2021
Nov 27, 2021 • 4 min Read
Pinoys need compassionate leaders to address woes – Robredo | PHILSTAR.COM – Vice President Leni Robredo stressed the need for hands-on and compassionate leaders who can effectively deal with the problems faced by marginalized Filipinos and those working in different sectors. “We need a leader who really knows what is happening daily (on the ground). We cannot have leaders who just receive reports from their staff,” she said in Filipino during a meeting with supporters in Cavite on Thursday. “There are a lot of things, a lot of day-to-day problems that we only know because we are present. What I am saying is, the number one requirement for a leader is to be present every day,” she added. Robredo urged Filipinos to closely study the track record of those they will vote for, saying holding previous positions is not enough to show a person’s capability to lead. “Maybe it’s true that they became mayors, governors, congressmen or whatever, but what if they are always absent and their performance is just based on the reports of their staff?” she said. The Vice President also stressed the importance of compassionate leaders, saying empathy would help them respond accordingly to the problems of the people they serve. “My description for it is, empathy is like your spiritual muscle. The more you use that muscle, the more you feel the suffering experienced by your countrymen,” she said. Robredo also stressed the importance of having competitive salaries for health care workers to prevent medical frontliners from leaving the country to work abroad, providing sustainable livelihood training program for fisherfolk and an efficient jeepney modernization program that will ensure that no driver would be left behind. Together with her running mate Sen. Francis Pangilinan, she also vowed to double the budget for agriculture in six years to ensure food security.
No request for info from ICC yet, says Palace | INQUIRER.NET – Malacañang has yet to receive a formal request from International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan for additional information on the government’s investigation on the alleged atrocities in President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on drugs, acting spokesperson Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said on Wednesday. “While we have received reports that International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan will request the Philippines to provide substantiating information regarding its investigations into allegations involving the country’s anti-illegal drug campaign, we would like to clarify that we have yet to receive a formal request with regard to this matter,” he said in a statement. “That being said, we reiterate our position that the ICC has no jurisdiction to probe our campaign against illegal drugs. Clearly, the ICC prosecutor’s request for information is an acknowledgment that alleged victims can seek redress in Philippine legal institutions because these are independent, impartial, and competent,” Nograles added. After granting a request last week by Manila to defer the ICC prosecution office’s investigation of the charges against the President, Khan on Wednesday said that “in the coming days” he would ask the government for proof that it was genuinely investigating the allegations of atrocities in the drug war. He said he wanted to be provided “promptly” with information that would substantiate the government’s claim.
AFP Chief on Robredo’s visit: ‘Very uplifting’ | Manila Bulletin – Vice President Leni Robredo lifted the morale of the military when she visited the General Headquarters (GHQ) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on Friday, November 26. Lt. Gen. Andres Centino, AFP Chief of Staff, had this to say after the presidential aspirant’s customary courtesy call which he described as “very uplifting.” “Being graced with the presence of the country’s Second-in-Command is a direct expression of the unwavering support that our civilian leadership bestows to our Armed Forces,” Centino said on Saturday, Nov. 27. Centino received Robredo in a traditional military honors at the GHQ Canopy Area upon her arrival. Then, a command briefing between Robredo and the country’s top generals followed at the Silid Lapu-Lapu at the GHQ Building where the Vice President was briefed on the military’s ongoing programs and initiatives, particularly in the implementation of the Development Support and Security Plan (DSSP) “Kapayapaan.”
PH logs 899 new COVID-19 cases; caseload now at 2,831,177 — DOH | INQUIRER.NET – The Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday reported 899 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the caseload to 2,831,177. Of the number, only 17,052 or 0.6 percent are still tagged as “active cases,” with most only having mild or no symptoms at 55.9 percent. The DOH said 22.77 percent of the active cases have moderate symptoms, 15 percent are severe, and 6.3 percent are in critical condition. The total number of recoveries is now at 2,765,920 or 97.7 percent of all cases after 1,667 new recoveries were reported on Saturday. There are also 188 new deaths, bringing the country’s COVID-19 death toll total to 48,205, or 1.70 percent of all cases.