News Roundup 27 October 2020
Oct 27, 2020 • 4 min Read
House panels want charges vs Duque, Morales over PhilHealth mess | PHILSTAR.COM – Two committees of the House of Representatives are recommending criminal and administrative charges against Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and former Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) chief executive officer Ricardo Morales over the alleged anomalies in the state health insurer. The House panels on public accounts and on good government and public accountability approved their committee report on their investigation into the alleged corruption in PhilHealth following months of hearings into the matter. The full report, which has been approved by the House committees, has yet to be released to the media, but a copy of the draft report that leaked last week showed that the panels want Duque and Morales charged with administrative charges, graft, and the violation of Article 220 of the Revised Penal Code.
COVID-19 cases in PH climb to 373,144 with 1,524 new cases | INQUIRER.NET – The Philippines’ total number of COVID-19 cases climbed to 373,144 after 1,524 new infections were logged, the Department of Health (DOH) said Tuesday. The latest data from the DOH showed that there were also 353 new recoveries and 14 new deaths, bringing the total to 328,602 and 7,053 respectively. Of the total number of cases, 37,489 are active cases, of which 82.8 percent are mild, 11 percent are asymptomatic, four percent are critical and 2.2 percent are severe.
Velasco hits Parlade: ‘Continuous red-tagging’ of House members endangers their lives | INQUIRER.NET – Speaker Lord Allan Velasco on Tuesday chided Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) Southern Luzon Command chief Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr. for red-tagging some members of the House of Representatives. Velasco said Parlade’s “careless accusations” imperils the lives of the elected officials. He then challenged the high-ranking military official that if he has evidence against the House members, he should bring it to court and not to the media. “As Speaker of the House, I am duty-bound to protect them from potential harm due to these careless accusations so that they may carry their legal and constitutional mandate as members of Congress,” Velasco noted in a statement. “General Parlade should be more circumspect and cautious in issuing statements against House members whose lives he may place at great risk and danger sans strong evidence,” he added. Velasco was referring to members of the House’s Makabayan bloc that includes Bayan Muna Representatives Carlos Zarate, Ferdinand Gaite, and Eufemia Cullamat; Gabriela Party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas; ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro; and Kabataan Party-list Rep. Sarah Elago.
DOLE’s special concerns bureau earns high marks from COA | Manila Bulletin – The Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns (BWSC) of the Department of Labor and Employment has obtained an unqualified audit rating from the Commission on Audit (COA) due to its sound and prudent use of resources. BWSC Director Atty. Ma. Karina Perida Trayvilla reported to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III that the unqualified report was rendered by COA over the fairness of the Bureau’s presentation of 2019 financial documents of its Social Amelioration Program (SAP) in the Sugar Industry. SAP is one of the flagship programs of the BWSC that seeks to improve and uplift the sugar workers sector in general, as provided under Republic Act No. 6982 of 1991, or “An Act Strengthening the Social Amelioration Program in the Sugar Industry”. “The program showed fairness in its Statement of Financial Position as of December 31, 2019, and its financial performance, changes in net assets/equity, cash flows, comparison of budget and actual amounts, and notes to the financial statements, which are all in accordance with the Philippine Public Sector Accounting Standards (PPSAs), and the International Standard of Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAIs),” the report read.
‘Quinta’ leaves 3 dead, 13 missing–NDRRMC | The Manila Times – Three people died, one person was injured and 13 others are missing following the onslaught of typhoon Quinta (international name Molave), according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Tuesday. NDRRMC spokesman Mark Timbal said two of three fatalities were from Negros Oriental. One was a 60-year-old woman from Siaton town, while the second was a man of undetermined age in Bindoy. The third death was from Mogpog, Marinduque. All three clvictims drowned, Timbal said. The injured person, meanwhile, was also from Mogpog, whom Timbal said sustained injuries after being hit by broken glass. On Monday, the NDRRMC initially reported that 12 fishermen in Catanduanes were missing as the storm entered the country. As of Tuesday, Timbal said four of the 12 fishermen from Catanduanes had been found. The total number of missing, however, climbed to 13, with eight in Catanduanes; one fisherman in Calabanga, Camarines Sur; a crew member from a sunken yacht in Bauan, Batangas; another in Odiongan, Romblon who was carried by strong river current; and another fisherman in Iloilo. About 237,948 families or 914,709 persons across the country were affected by Quinta, according to Timbal.
