News Roundup 29 June 2020
Jun 29, 2020 • 3 min Read
Philippines logs 985 new COVID-19 cases; total now at 36,438 | PHILSTAR.COM – Confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the country rose to 36,438 after 985 new infections were reported Monday, the Department of Health said. The DOH also logged 270 additional COVID-19 survivors. This raised the total number of recoveries to 9,956. But 11 more people succumbed to COVID-19, bringing the nation’s death toll to 1,255.
NTC: ABS-CBN to cease Channel 43, TV Plus operations before day ends | PHILSTAR.COM – ABS-CBN’s TV Plus services should have been ceased along with its other operations when it went off the air with the expiration of its legislative franchise and will be halted by Monday’s end by the National Telecommunications Commission, commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba said Monday. “All broadcast operations of ABS-CBN are only authorized through its expired franchise…In other words, ABS-CBN’s airing of digital TV on Channel 43 is part of the cease and desist order because the franchise that they used for that is ABS-CBN’s franchise,” he said. For his part, ABS-CBN Corp. CEO Carlo Katigbak said that the company was willing to submit to the judgment of the regulatory agency but appealed for due process and asked the committees to allow broadcast while the franchise is pending for renewal. “In the past, the NTC has permitted other companies whose franchises have expired and were currently being deliberated to continue with their operations until such time as either the application is approved or denied. We would like permission to ask for the same privilege to be extended to ABS-CBN in the spirit of fairness,” he said. “The cease and desist order does not cover Channel 43. It’s not on the list… A block-time arrangement is a standard commercial agreement that is quite common in the broadcast industry. Many other broadcasters do this as well,” he added.
Lawyer claims Makati cops didn’t follow protocol in bar arrest; cops maintain regularity of arrest | INQUIRER.NET – Makati policemen did not follow basic protocol when it arrested about 100 individuals in a high-rise bar in Salcedo Village in Makati City, a lawyer for one of those arrested said. Lawyer Fudge Tajar said on Monday the policemen who arrested her client did not read to them their Miranda rights and did not inform them of their violation when asked. Speaking to INQUIRER.net, Tajar said her client is considering filing counter charges against the arresting officers for not following basic protocol, and for preventing arrested individuals from initially speaking to their lawyers on Sunday night.
Priests at the frontlines in M.Manila, Calabarzon Region to undergo COVID-19 tests | Manila Bulletin – Priests serving on the frontlines of the coronavirus outbreak in Metro Manila and in the Calabarzon Region (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) are expected to undergo tests with the help of the private sector. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has joined Project ARK and its members will benefit from the rapid antibody tests kits procured by the private sector, according to Dr. Minguita Padilla.
4 soldiers killed by policemen in Sulu | The Manila Times – Four soldiers were shot dead by policemen in Jolo, Sulu on Monday in what Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana described as “a very unfortunate incident.” The soldiers were flagged down by the policemen at a checkpoint along Marina Street, reports said. Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, commander of the Western Mindanao Command, confirmed that a major and a captain and two enlisted personnel died. Sobejana had asked the National Bureau of Investigation to conduct an impartial investigation into the incident. “They were performing official functions and apparently, they were mistaken as lawless [criminals],” he said.
