News Roundup 28 February 2022
Feb 28, 2022 • 5 min Read
PH’s new COVID-19 cases drop below 1k; self-regulation key to maintaining Alert Level 1 status – DOH | Manila Bulletin – The country’s new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases dropped below 1,000 on Monday, Feb. 28. In its latest case bulletin, the Department of Health (DOH) said that it recorded 951 new COVID-19 cases. The country last recorded fresh cases below 1,000 on Dec. 29, 2021 just when COVID-19 cases were beginning to spike. Active cases stood at 52,179 or 1.4 percent of the total number of cases. This update brings the total number of cases to 3,661,997 since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the active cases, 42,157 are mild; 2,779 are moderate; 1,417 are severe; 528 are asymptomatic; while 298 are in critical condition. DOH said that of the 951 reported cases, 895 or 94 percent occurred within the recent 14 days from Feb. 15 to Feb. 28, 2022. The top regions with cases in the recent two weeks were Metro Manila with 231 or 26 percent, Region 4-A with 136 or 15 percent and Region 6 with 93 or 10 percent. The agency also reported 1m717 new recoveries, bringing the total to 3,553,367 or 97 percent of the total number of cases while 50 more have died from COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 56,451 or 1.54 percent of the total number of cases. DOH said that all labs were operational on Feb. 26. However, five labs were not able to submit their data to the COVID-19 Document Repository System (CDRS).
Teachers’ alliance, human rights defenders back Robredo-Pangilinan in May polls | PHILSTAR.COM – The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines on Monday formally endorsed the election bids of Vice President Leni Robredo and Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, who are running for president and vice president, citing their “exemplary track record” and concrete plans for the education sector. The endorsement comes on the heels of a similar endorsement by more than 100 human rights defenders, who said the two are candidates who have stood up for human rights. “ACT Philippines…chooses to support the candidacy of Vice President Maria Leonor ‘Leni’ Robredo for president and of Sen. Francis ‘Kiko’ Pangilinan for vice president, and work with Team Leni-Kiko in pushing forward a common agenda that will address the grave crisis that currently beset the Philippine education system,” the group said in a statement on Monday. The group said the Leni-Kiko tandem has the “most exemplary track record among all the presidential and vice presidential candidates in responding to the needs of the education sector.” “While the pandemic ravaged the education sector, Team Lani-Kiko’s heart for education has shone. They also present the most substantive, concrete, and viable platform for education, as well as for tackling the current health and economic crisis and upholding peace, democracy, and human rights,” the alliance said. “For the Filipino children and youth and for the future of the nation, ACT Philippines places its support on the candidacy of Team Leni-Kiko and commit to helping in delivering the education sector vote for the victory of pro-education candidates,” it added. The group said a coming change of leadership is an opportunity to address problems in the education sector.
Fact check: Did the UniTeam rallies really draw half the people in Pangasinan? | PHILSTAR.COM – The campaign team of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has claimed that more than two million residents of Pangasinan went out of their residences to see and greet the son and namesake of the late ousted dictator, during his two-day visit to the province. CLAIM: In a statement, the Marcos campaign went as far as saying that more than half of the total population went out to see their caravan. RATING: This is false. FACTS: The actual crowd was less than half the number they claimed. What they said – “Of the three million population of Pangasinan, more than half of them have supported and participated in every caravan and grand rally of presidential candidate Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. and some of the UniTeam’s senatorial candidates,” a statement issued by Marcos’ campaign team reads. “Consolidated data from the Philippine National Police showed that more than two million Pangasinense went out of their residences to see and greet Marcos during his two-day visit as he fulfilled his promise to return to the province to meet them again.”The media release brought up the number in arguing that “it is very clear that the Pangasinense are all in for the BBM-Sara UniTeam and their call for unity.” “Supporters of all ages did not miss the opportunity to see Marcos and the hope he brings to the people…The crowds seemed to be non-stop in every street the caravan passed by,” it also said. What they left out – It is unclear how the UniTeam acquired its figures supposedly from the PNP. Philstar.com reached out to Police Lt. Col. Abubakar Mangelen, information officer of Police Regional Office 1, to confirm the crowd size. “As per operations, more or less 600,000 to 800,000,” he said in a Viber message. Essential context – The Pangasinan provincial government said on its website that based on the 2020 census of population, the province has “registered a total population of 3,163,190 and ranks sixth in the country.” The two million being claimed by the Marcos team would mean that some 63% of the total population went out to welcome the tandem. The actual figure given by the PNP makes a still sizeable 25% of the population. Marcos was in Pangasinan over the weekend for campaign sorties as he skipped the CNN Presidential Debates. Why did we fact check this? Media outlet Sonshine Media Network International picked up the statement by Marcos’ team and reported it as true. The tweet has since been retweeted or quoted more than 500 times and has been liked more than 1,200 times on Twitter as of this post.
