News Roundup 27 October 2022

Joseph Guerrero in News and Updates

Oct 27, 2022 • 5 min Read

COVID-19 cases could reach 18K a day if masking indoors made optional — DOH | PHILSTAR.COM – COVID-19 infections could go up to 18,000 a day by late 2022 if the government pushes through with making face masks optional even indoors, the Department of Health said Thursday. Citing projections by scientists, DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire told ABS CBN News Channel that daily COVID-19 cases may range from 2,500 to as high as 18,000 if masking rules are further loosened. Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco earlier announced that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. will issue an executive order allowing the voluntary wearing of face masks indoors. Masks will still be required in public transportation and in medical settings, Frasco added. Vergeire said the health department had presented possible scenarios to the government’s inter-agency task force on pandemic response concerning mask mandates. She, however, noted that the task force is a collegial body. “There’s this agreement with [the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases] that we will still have unified messaging wherein we still highly encourage wearing of masks, especially in high-risk areas like public transport, health facilities and for the vulnerable like the elderly, pregnant women, the unvaccinated,” she said. The position of the DOH has always been to continue wearing masks to protect people from getting COVID-19. In September, the agency warned it was not yet time to ease mask wearing outdoors, but was overruled by the IATF and by the executive order of Marcos. Vergeire added that COVID-19 cases are expected to rise not only because of the eased mask rules, but also because of the presence of new subvariants and increased mobility of the public. “Cases are going to increase, but what we need to preserve would be our healthcare capacity,” she said.

Hontiveros turns over evidence of threats on Percy Lapid’s family to PNP | INQUIRER.NET – Senator Risa Hontiveros has turned over to the Philippine National Police (PNP) evidence of threats on the family of slain broadcaster Percival Mabasa, more known as Percy Lapid. In a statement, Hontiveros expressed hope that the police will maximize the use of the pieces of evidence in investigating the threats and harassment that the family had received since Lapid’s murder last October 3. “I have turned over the audio recording of the cellphone call and screenshots of the text messages to Chief PNP [Rodolfo] Azurin. I trust that our law enforcers can make full use of these pieces of evidence to ensure a thorough investigation of the harassment and threats received by the Mabasa family as well as the murder of Percy itself,” she said. Upon the request of the Lapid family, the opposition senator paid them a visit early this week. During the visit, the senator was told about the threats and harassment the family has been getting through their personal phone numbers and even social media.

PNP extracts evidence from phones of gunman, sister of middleman in Percy Lapid case | INQUIRER.NET – The results of the digital forensic examination on the mobile phones of confessed gunman Joel Escorial and the sister of the alleged “broker” in the fatal ambush of Percy Lapid will soon be submitted to the prosecutor’s office as additional evidence in the case, said the police. Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo told Inquirer.net in a phone interview on Thursday that the Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) has finished its analysis on the phones of the two persons of interest. “As per information na provided ng director ng ACG, completed na po iyong forensic examination at inaasahan nga natin na isu-submit po nila iyong resulta na ito sa prosecutor’s office to serve as additional evidence doon sa sinampa po natin na kaso,” she said. (As per information provided by the ACG director, the forensic examination has been completed and we’re expecting that the results will be submitted to the prosecutor’s office to serve as additional evidence to the case we’ve filed.) Fajardo noted that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is still on the lookout for the cellphone of the supposed middleman in Lapid’s assassination, Cristito Palaña (previously referred to as Jun or Crisanto Villamor), who died at the New Bilibid Prison hospital hours after Escorial was presented before the public after surrendering to authorities. “Iyon po iyong hinahanap po ng DOJ dahil sila po iyong may administrative and operational control over the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) kaya iyon po iyong pinagsisikapan nilang hanapin para makasuporta at ma-corroborate iyong statement nitong ate po ng middleman,” Fajardo said, citing the claim of Palaña’s sister alias “Marisa,” who apparently knows those behind Lapid’s murder as it was supposedly revealed to her by Palaña via text messages. (That’s what the DOJ is looking for because they have the administrative and operational control over the Bureau of Corrections. That’s what they’re working toward finding to support and corroborate the statement of the middleman’s sister.)

Hunt for source of money for hit

Fajardo said the PNP are still awaiting results of the investigation conducted by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (ALMC), which was tapped to assist the hunt for the source of the P550,000 deposited to Escorial’s bank account for the hit. “Once they have a probable cause, prima facie evidence na itong mga account nga ay nagamit sa krimen related nga po sa pagpatay kay Percy Lapid then, we have to take action sa ating mga korte para tayo pa ay payagan na makita officially at maging admissible po sa korte,” she said. (Once they have a probable cause, prima facie evidence that these accounts were used for the crime related to Percy Lapid’s killing then, we have to take action and ask our courts to allow us to have a look at it officially, and also for it to be admissible in courts.) Fajardo explained that tracing the depositors of the supposed payment made for Lapid’s death must be done within the parameters of the bank secrecy law.