News Roundup 28 October 2020
Oct 28, 2020 • 4 min Read
Carpio, Carpio-Morales prod SC: Filipinos ‘chilled to silence’ by fear of anti-terrorism law | PHILSTAR.COM – Former Supreme Court Justices Antonio Carpio and Conchita Carpio-Morales, and legal luminaries from the University of the Philippines urged the tribunal to act on their pleas, saying Filipinos have been “chilled to silence” in fear of the contentious Anti-Terrorism Act of 2022. Citing the clear and irreparable injury the petitioners would suffer, they filed a reiterative motion on Wednesday urging the SC to resolve their prayer for, and issue, a status quo ante or temporary restraining order to keep the government from enforcing Republic Act 11479. “Petitioners have demonstrated clear and irreparable injury: the grim reality remains that even before charges have been brought to the court, a Filipino shall have been chilled to silence for fear of warrantless arrest, detention for a maximum of24 days without charges, designation as a ‘terrorist,’ freezing of assets, and restrictions on movement,” their motion read. Nearly four months have passed since President Rodrigo Duterte signed the law and petitions started pouring in at the SC. To date, there are 37 legal challenges pending before the SC, but the court has yet to resolve the petitions’ prayers for immediate relief. The SC has so far only announced that it will hold oral arguments on the case, but even the date is still undetermined.
COVID-19 cases in Philippines climb to 375,180 with 2,053 new infections | PHILSTAR.COM – The total number of coronavirus cases in the country rose to 375,180 after the Department of Health reported 2,053 additional infections Wednesday. The DOH also logged 540 more recovered patients, pushing the total recoveries to 329,111. COVID-19 survivors accounted for 87.7% of the country’s confirmed cases. But the death toll climbed to 7,114 after 61 additional coronavirus-related fatalities were registered. The number of active cases in the Philippines stands at 38,955, or 10.4% of the cumulative total. Of the figure, 83% are exhibiting mild symptoms, 11.1% are asymptomatic, 2.2% are severe cases and 3.8% are in critical condition.
Agot, other celebs ask Comelec: Think of ‘Rule 65’ when commenting on Marcos poll protest | INQUIRER.NET – Several celebrities led by Agot Isidro on Wednesday appealed to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to protect the millions of votes when it issues a comment on the bid of former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to nullify the election results in three Mindanao provinces. Isidro, Pia Magalona, and entertainment writer and manager Noel Ferrer personally went to the Comelec main office in Intramuros, Manila to submit the letter of appeal addressed to poll body chair Sheriff Abas and to the commissioners. The letter was signed by other celebrities including singer Bituin Escalante, actors Enchong Dee and Iza Calzado, Arman Ferrer, Carlos Aguilos, Kalila Aguilos, Maychelle Baay, Bayang Barrios Villegas, Reymund Domingo, Sweet Plantado-Tiongson, Jet Valle and Adrienne Vergara. In their letter, the celebrities urged to “underscore the enforcement of election rules, particularly Comelec Resolution No. 9720 and Rule 65 of the PET Rules.” “The Comelec, in its Resolution No. 9720, indicated that a Division [might] dismiss the protest, without further proceedings, if no reasonable recovery could be established from the pilot protested precincts,” the letter read. “With Rule 65 also stating the same, Marcos’ election protest should have been dismissed a long time ago since he failed to gain substantial recovery from the pilot provinces that he himself identified,” the letter added.
ASG tagged in kidnapping of Fil-Am falls | Manila Bulletin – Anti-kidnapping operatives of the Philippine National Police have arrested a suspected member of the Abu Sayyaf Group tagged in the abduction of an American-Filipino farmer last month. Police Brig. Gen. Jonnel Estomo, director of the PNP-AKG, said suspect Anerson Tungao was carrying an M16 rifle when his men, backed by soldiers, chanced upon him in a remote area in Zamboanga City Tuesday. Another target of the operation, Injam Yadah, was able to escape. Yadah is reportedly a sub-leader of the Abu Sayyaf. The two were tagged in the kidnapping of Rex Triplitt in Sirawai, Zamboanga del Norte last Sept. 16.
Metro Manila stays under GCQ | The Manila Times – THE National Capital Region (NCR) or Metro Manila will remain under general community quarantine (GCQ) from November 1 to 30, President Rodrigo Duterte said on Tuesday. He made the announcement in a taped address to the nation following a meeting with the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases. The provinces of Batangas and Lanao del Sur and cities of Iloilo, Bacolod, Tacloban and Iligan will also be under GCQ for a month.
