News Roundup 29 November 2021
Nov 29, 2021 • 4 min Read
DOH records lowest daily COVID-19 tally since mid-July of 2020 | PHILSTAR.COM – Even with the threat of the heavily mutated Omicron variant overseas, the Philippines continues its downward trajectory of new COVID-19 cases. The Department of Health (DOH), Monday, tallied just 665 new infections of COVID-19 cases in the country — the lowest since July 14, 2020 when it dipped to a low of 634. “Ten duplicates were removed from the total case count. Of these, 8 are recoveries and 1 is a death. In addition, 87 cases were found to have tested negative and have been removed from the total case count. These 87 are recoveries,” said the DOH. “Moreover, 129 cases that were previously tagged as recoveries were reclassified as deaths after final validation.” However, two laboratories were said to be non-operational last November 27 while three labs weren’t able to submit their data to the COVID-19 Document Repository System (CDRS).
Doctors’ group backs Robredo’s bid | PHILSTAR.COM – More physicians and health care workers in the country are actively engaging in voting advocacy, refusing to be “fence sitters” in the election of new leaders and unafraid to take a stand and support Robredo’s presidential bid. Dr. Winlove Mojica, a clinical associate professor at the Department of Dermatology of the Philippine General Hospital – University of the Philippines and officer of the Healthcare Professionals Alliance Against Covid-19 (HPAAC), said yesterday that COVID-19 has placed extreme demands on health care workers who faced genuine threats to their own physical safety and indirectly to that of their families. Mojica said these challenges moved them to support a candidate who carefully makes decisions based on science and who is truly concerned for their welfare. “There was support from the government, but not enough. There were a lot of missteps. So now, the Doctors for Leni decided that we no longer want to be fence-sitters,” Mojica said in Filipino during the Vice President’s weekly radio program BISErbisyong Leni. With the COVID-19 pandemic causing such an impact on their lives as health care professionals, he said they consider the chance to elect the next president in May 2022 as the “fight of our lives.” “It’s been taught in medical school to always be in the middle; always listen but never take a stance. But now, there are more who realize that health is political,” Mojica said.
Robredo: Above platforms, check candidates’ track record on workers’ issues | INQUIRER.NET – Above the candidates’ proposed policies ahead of next year’s national elections, their track records on issues concerning workers’ rights should also be scrutinized, Vice President Leni Robredo said Monday. Robredo, who is vying for the presidential seat, made the remark at the signing of the “Covenant Vision of a Robredo Presidency ” with the Alliance of Labor Leaders for Leni Robredo (ALL4Leni). “Lagi kasi na mahalaga, hindi lang yung policy. Kasi kadalasan yung policy—yung policy writers sasabihin mo kung anong gustong marinig ng tao. Pero siguro yung caveat ko dito, hindi lang yung polisiyang inilalahad ang tingnan, pero ano yung track record,” Robredo said. (It should not just be about the policy because more often than not, policy writers will just say what the public wants to hear. So my caveat here is let’s just not look at the policy but also their track record.) “Ano ‘yung track record nung nagsasabi para paniwalaan natin na kapag nakaupo siya, matutupad. Madali lang kasi mag-commit e, madali lang magpromise lalo na pag panahon ng eleksyon,” she added. (What is the track record so that we can believe that once they are elected, their promises will be fulfilled. It is easy to commit and to promise, especially during elections.
Despite agreement with PNP, only NBI is probing 56 deaths in 52 cases of illegal drug operations | Manila Bulletin – The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) assured its continued probe on 52 cases of illegal drugs operations that resulted in deaths to 56 suspects and other persons. NBI Deputy Director Ferdinand M. Lavin said that while the agency has an agreement with the Philippine National Police (PNP) for a joint investigation, “the bureau is conducting the probe alone.” “We have clustered regional teams across the archipelago to handle investigations on 52 EJK (extrajudicial killing) cases referred by DOJ (Department of Justice),” Lavin said. He said the 52 cases are the only cases, so far, under investigation by the NBI. Records showed that the 52 cases were submitted by the PNP for DOJ review last June after the Internal Affairs Service (IAS) of the PNP found liabilities on the part of policemen involved in the operations. After the review, Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra turned over the results to the NBI for case buildup against 154 policemen involved in the 52 cases. Last Nov. 3, the NBI and PNP signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) that would allow the two agencies to “jointly evaluate the government’s anti-illegal drug operations, and, where necessary, determine possible criminal liability on the part of the police officers involved in these operations.” “As state agencies, both Parties seek to ascertain the truth regarding the allegations of human rights violations and possible criminal liability in the conduct of the government’s anti-illegal drug operations,” the MOA provides.
