News Roundup 29 October 2021
Oct 29, 2021 • 4 min Read
Philippines’ COVID count by up 4,043 new cases | PHILSTAR.COM – The Department of Health on Friday reported 4,043 new coronavirus cases, pushing the country’s caseload to 2,779,943. DOH said all laboratories submitted their COVID-19 testing results. Earlier today, the agency also added 3,439 cases from September 29 to October 18.
- Active cases: 50,630 or 1.8% of the total
- Deaths: 44, pushing the count to 42,621
- Recoveries: 3,224 bringing the number to 2,686,692
Local PPE makers decry gov’t ‘preference’ for traders, importers | PHILSTAR.COM – Filipino producers of personal protective equipment this week aired their concern over the government’s procurement process which they claim favors traders and importers and results in the “dumping of substandard PPE” in the country. Members of the Coalition of Philippine Manufacturers of PPE and the Confederation of Wearables Exporters of the Philippines said this in a joint statement delivered before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on Thursday as the latter resumed its probe on reported deficiencies in pandemic spending. CPMP executive director Rosette Carillo told senators that member firms of CPMP answered the Department of Trade and Industry’s call last year to repurpose their factories for the production of PPE but “encountered many of the problems that have been the subject of [the Senate] committee’s investigation.” “Most CPMP members have stopped manufacturing PPE” since then, according to Carillo, largely due to issues with the Department of Budget and Management’s procurement process, including “loopholes” in its standards and testing of products which rendered them “no match to traders that merely repack expired PPE.” “Every time substandard PPE made by a foreign worker is dumped here, a Filipino worker is always marginalized,” she added. “The issue of dumping worsened our already bleak prospects during the pandemic.” The government’s top pandemic supplier by far, Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp., is a middleman between the government and other suppliers but managed to corner deals worth P10.4 billion as of September 2021.
Another Bicol mayor vows support for Robredo’s presidential bid | INQUIRER.NET – Another local chief executive — this time Mayor Noel Rosal of Legazpi City, Albay — vowed to support Vice President Leni Robredo’s presidential candidacy in the 2022 national elections, as she has supposedly shown resourcefulness in the face of adversity and low funding. In a statement on Friday, Rosal said that he supports the candidacy of Robredo as she has shown what true leadership is about — finding a way to help her constituents even if resources appear so scarce. “The time has come for us to be united in deciding to elect our own leader — a leader who is humble in caring and governing. She has shown that even when resources are scarce or even when there is none, if you are a true leader who is trusted and whose cause is for everyone’s welfare, then you are capable of achieving many things,” he said. “During the pandemic, she has shown and even mobilized all sectors of our society whether rich, middle and even the poor that when we are all united and believe in the same cause, we can do everything for one another,” he added. According to Rosal, the upcoming elections are very important as the chance to elect a leader who listens to the plight of the people — Robredo — may be a rare occasion. “We should discern carefully because this might not come in our lifetime anymore. History will judge us that we failed our responsibility, not only as a Bicolano but as a Filipino, to elect a leader who listens, sympathizes and is concerned for everyone.
Robredo hopes LGUs will tap into opportunities for greater people’s involvement | Manila Bulletin –Vice President Leni Robredo hopes that the Mandanas ruling will pave the way for the people’s direct participation in forming programs for affected sectors as well as in the budget process. Robredo said during a press briefing in Sorsogon on Friday, Oct. 29, that the infusion of additional funds to local government under the Mandanas ruling would open up opportunities for close coordination between the local government units (LGUs) and their constituents in rolling out programs that will benefit them. The Mandanas ruling refers to the 2018 decision of the Supreme Court in Mandanas et al. v. Executive Secretary, et al. (G.R. Nos. 199802 and 208488) that the IRA, which is the share of LGUs in national taxes, should be computed based on all national taxes and not just on national internal revenue taxes.
