News Roundup 29 October 2023
Oct 29, 2023 • 4 min Read
Pick doers during past crises, House reps urge voters in barangay, SK polls | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — Several lawmakers on Saturday made a final appeal to voters ahead of Monday’s nationwide village polls to choose barangay and youth leaders who had been consistently providing public service, particularly at the time when the nation was gripped by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over 1.41 million candidates are vying for the 672,432 posts in the Oct. 30 elections.
Bohol Rep. Kristine Alexie Tutor pointed out that incumbent officials had been holding their posts for five years — beyond their three-year term — because the polls had been postponed.
“Voters should ask themselves if these incumbents deserve to be retained or replaced,” she said. If they choose others, the replacements should be “capable and competent, and are advocates of justice and anticorruption.”
Tutor, chair of the House civil service and professional regulation panel, said the elections would be the “best time” to keep the incumbents who performed well during the past years, especially those who were consistently active in public service while the pandemic ravaged the country.
Full Story at: Pick doers during past crises, House reps urge voters in barangay, SK polls | Inquirer News
Vico Sotto tips voters: Pick bets who didn’t spend a lot during campaign | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — For voters who are still undecided about who to vote for in the #BSKE2023 on Monday, Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto has this advice: Choose candidates who did not spend a lot during the campaign.
In a video-recorded speech posted Sunday on social media, he said:
“Sa akin po, kung hindi tayo sigurado sino ba dyan ‘yung mas tapat, sino ba dyan ‘yung mas magaling, sino ba dyan ‘yung mas masipag…hindi tayo sigurado kung ano, [ako] pipiliin ko nalang, kung dalawang kandidato parang similar, hindi ako sigurado, kung ako pipiliin ko nalang ‘yung mas bago. Pipiliin ko nalang ‘yung hindi gumagastos ng malaki.”
(To me, if we are not sure who is more honest, who is better, who is more hardworking…we are not sure of what, [I] will just choose, if two candidates seem similar, I’m not sure, if it were me I’d just choose the newer one. I’ll just choose the one that doesn’t spend a lot [in the election period].)
Full Story at: Vico Sotto tips voters: Pick bets who didn’t spend a lot during campaign | Inquirer News
Cancer support advocates alarmed over dwindling budget for vaccination | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — A cancer support advocacy group has expressed alarm over the dwindling budget for cervical cancer vaccination, saying it means not giving priority to women’s health in the country.
“The cuts not only threaten to undermine ongoing efforts to prevent cervical cancer but also signal deprioritization of women’s health,” Cancer Coalition Philippines (CCPh) vice president Carmen Auste said in a statement.
She stressed, “Increase the budget allocated for HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccination. Eliminating cervical cancer is worth the budget increase. Let us not compromise our capacity as a nation to reduce avoidable deaths from this preventable cancer.”
Full Story at: Cancer support advocates alarmed over dwindling budget for vaccination | Philstar.com
Dawlah terrorist killed in accidental IED blast | PHILSTAR.COM – COTABATO CITY, Philippines — A ranking leader of the Dawlah Islamiya was killed in an accidental explosion of the home-made bomb he was to bring somewhere in Datu Salibo, Maguindanao del Sur on Sunday.
In separate statements Sunday, the Maguindanao del Sur Provincial Police Office and the commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, Major Gen. Alex Rillera, confirmed the incident in one of the barangays in Datu Salibo that resulted in the death of Commander Pagadian, whose real name is Samaon Odin Amil, a senior leader of the Dawlah Islamiya.
The Army’s 601st Infantry Brigade, in a report to Rillera, said Amil was to bring an improvised explosive device that he had assembled to somewhere in Datu Salibo when it went off prematurely, killing him on the spot.
Traditional Moro leaders supporting the anti-terror Joint Task Force Central, also led by Rillera, had reported to the police and the 6th ID that Amil was a henchman of the bomber Abdulkareem Lumbatan Hashim, who was killed by police and Army intelligence operatives in a shootout at the public terminal in Tacurong City last January.Hashim, whose alias was Commander Jacket, was tagged in bombings of buses and commercial establishments in central Mindanao months before soldiers and policemen had shot him dead for refusing arrest.
