News Roundup 29 June 2021
Jun 29, 2021 • 3 min Read
4,479 new infections bring Philippines coronavirus caseload to 1,408,058 | PHILSTAR.COM – Local health authorities on Tuesday reported 4,479 more COVID-19 infections, bringing the national caseload to 1,408,058.
- Active cases: 50,037 or 3.6% of the total
- Recoveries: 6,471, pushing total to 1,33,464
- Deaths: 101, bringing total to 24,557
Robredo’s office gets highest audit rating for third straight year | PHILSTAR.COM – Vice President Leni Robredo’s office announced Tuesday that they received the highest audit rating from the Commission on Audit for the third straight year. The Office of the Vice President said that the COA gave an “unqualified opinion” in response to its 2020 financial report. COA’s audit report on the OVP is not yet available on its website as of publishing. State auditors give an unqualified opinion when they deem that a government office has fairly presented its financial statements according to public sector accounting standards. Robredo credited her staff for making it possible for her office to receive the highest audit rating three years in a row. “Mahalaga ang recognition na ito dahil patunay siya sa pagpapahalaga natin sa pagsasaayos ng ating mga sistema, lalo pagdating sa maayos na paggamit ng pera ng bayan,” she said. (This recognition is important because it is proof that we are prioritizing fixing our systems, especially when it comes to properly spending public funds.)
After Duterte’s tirade, Cusi tells Pacquiao: Leave first before you burn your house down | INQUIRER.NET – “Lumayas ka muna bago mo sunugin ang bahay mo.” (Leave first before you burn your house down.) This was the message of PDP-Laban party vice-chairman Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi to Senator Manny Pacquiao following the remarks made by President Rodrigo Duterte against the boxing champ-turned politician. Pacquiao serves as PDP-Laban’s acting president while Duterte is the party’s chairman. “It’s really unfortunate that the acting president of the party is accusing the chairman, who is the president of the country, of those things that Sen. Pacquiao said openly,” Cusi said in an interview on ABS-CBN News Channel. “Hindi po naman siguro tama yun na sarili mong bahay susunugin mo. If you don’t like your house…don’t say something about it, lumayas ka muna bago mo sunugin ang bahay mo,” he added. (I don’t think it’s right that you burn your own home. If you don’t like your house…don’t say something about it…leave first and then burn your house down.) On Monday night, Duterte challenged Pacquiao to name corrupt government agencies or else he would tell the people not to vote for him in the 2022 national elections. The President claimed that the senator had supposedly said that the current administration is “three times more corrupt” than the previous one.
PNP needs no armed civilian groups to fight criminality — Guevarra | Manila Bulletin – Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra on Tuesday, June 29, said the Philippine National Police (PNP) does not need armed civilian groups in fighting criminality. “I believe that the PNP is strong enough to perform this duty,” Guevarra said. “Besides, except for a few high-profile incidents of violence, criminality on the streets is at an all-time low, due in part to the pandemic,” he added. The secretary reacted to President Duterte’s statement that he (the President) is amenable to the arming of a new coalition of volunteers to augment government forces in keeping peace and order in the country. On the other hand, Guevarra said he is not opposed to civilians getting themselves armed. “Except during the martial law period, civilians have always been free to arm themselves for their protection, provided they comply with all existing laws and regulations on the ownership, possession, and carrying of firearms outside residence, including the requirement to pass a neuro-psychiatric test,” he said. “Allowing them to band together and act like a vigilante group, however, is a totally different matter,” he stressed. The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) had opposed the arming of civilians as anti-crime volunteers.
