News Roundup 27 October 2021
Oct 27, 2021 • 5 min Read
Philippines sees 3,218 new COVID-19 cases | PHILSTAR.COM – The Philippines on Wednesday reported 3,218 new coronavirus cases, bringing its total count to 2,768,849. Today’s figures saw active cases down by 3,490 from the 53,642 on October 26. DOH said one laboratory did not submit screening results. “While cases continue to be on the decline in the past days, we should not be complacent and keep following the minimum public health standards and get vaccinated,” the agency said in Filipino.
- Active cases: 50,152 or 1.8% of the total
- Deaths: 271, pushing the count to 42,348
- Recoveries: 6,660 bringing the number to 2,676,349
After VP push, admin party now prodding Duterte to run for senator | PHILSTAR.COM – The faction of administration party Partido Demokratiko Pilipino – Lakas ng Bayan backed by President Rodrigo Duterte admitted Wednesday that it is trying to convince him to run for senator in the 2022 elections. Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, who is party president, said he is prodding Duterte to run for a seat in the upper chamber instead of the vice-presidency and to become the campaign manager of the party’s presidential bet, Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, and his running mate Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go. “Kung talagang hindi po tatakbo si pangulo dahil talagang decided siya na ayaw niyang tumakbo at ayaw niyang sirain ang salita niya, eh di sabi ko, ‘Okay, takbo ka na lang ng senador para makapagdala ka ng pagbabago diyan sa Senado,’” Cusi told Daily Tribune’s “Gising Na!” (If the president is decided that he won’t really run and he doesn’t want to break his word, I said, “Okay, just run for senator so you can bring change in the Senate.”) The Constitution bars presidents from running for another term in Malacañang, but does not prevent them from seeking other elective positions. PDP-Laban’s Cusi faction was originally pushing for Duterte to run for vice president while his former long-time aide, Go, will run for president. However, they both surprised the public when Go instead filed his candidacy for vice president and Duterte announced that he is retiring from politics. But Cusi said that they are still encouraging Duterte to run for vice president, stressing that the political landscape has changed and that the party can revert to its original plan. Should Duterte agree to run for senator, the PDP-Laban Cusi has until November 15 to replace a senatorial candidate they have already fielded.
Don’t do that: Robredo to supporters calling to boycott restos supportive of Marcos | INQUIRER.NET –Vice President Leni Robredo warned her supporters who appeared to be discriminating against certain sectors, asking them to refrain from calling a boycott of restaurants serving or supporting the Marcoses. Robredo said during a briefing in Naga City, Camarines Sur on Wednesday that she was “alarmed” over calls not to patronize restaurant in Iloilo City for serving food to former senator Bongbong Marcos, as divisiveness contradicts their call for inclusivity. The Vice President is set to run for president in the 2022 national elections, squaring off against several opponents including Marcos, son of former president Ferdinand Marcos. “Ako na-alarm ako no’n kasi hindi naman natin ine-encourage ‘yong ganitong mga actions, kaya nga kung napapansin niyo nag-eexert ako ng effort na magpahayag sa mga supporters na ‘wag nating tularan ‘yong style ng iba,” Robredo told reporters in Naga. (I was alarmed by that, because we do not encourage these actions, that’s why if you have noticed I have exerted effort to tell supporters that we should not emulate the style of other camps.) She also urged her supporters again to respect differences in beliefs, and refrain from being imposing in sharing their beliefs to other people.
‘We were really drowned out,’ Diokno says on speaking up vs ‘deliberate plan’ of historical revisionism on martial law | Manila Bulletin – Human rights lawyer and senatorial candidate Jose Manuel “Chel” Diokno said Wednesday, Oct. 27, that the historical revisionism on martial law happening today is a “deliberate plan” created about two decades ago. “Alam ninyo nung pinag-aralan namin itong issue, na-realize namin na (You know what, when we were studying this issue, we realized that) this was a very deliberate plan that started about 20 years ago,” Diokno said during a forum organized by the Rotary International District 3810. “In the years of 2000s, 2005, to 2010, we began witnessing this phenomenon of really slick, well-produced videos coming out on YouTube, portraying the Marcos times as the golden years. And even if there were some voices in the wilderness, who started talking about it, we were really drowned out,” Diokno stressed. In the coming election season, the senatorial aspirant admitted that it will be a challenge to balance the effort of preventing the historical revisionism without “alienating voters who are in favor of the Marcoses.” “It will really be a challenge but at the same time I can never compromise or sacrifice the truth and what really happened during that time,” the human rights lawyer said. Diokno further shared that he and his colleagues observed that the so-called phenomenon of historical revisionism was intended for the millenials, who now belong to the voting population. “And sad to say, they were successful in pushing that kind of historical revisionism. By the time the majority of us, who have experienced martial law, woke up, we were already behind the line,” he said. One of the approaches, he said, that can be used to end this is to “double time in pushing back against fake news and historical revisionism” as he urged the people to focus on their shared values.
