News Roundup 30 November 2021
Nov 30, 2021 • 4 min Read
May polls a reset button for Pinoys – Robredo | PHILSTAR.COM – The May 2022 elections are a chance for Filipinos to hit the reset button to start a new kind of politics where ordinary citizens can get elected to public office, Vice President Leni Robredosaid yesterday. Robredo hopes to see a change in the political environment in the country. “Our politics has become exclusive for the moneyed and prominent names,” Robredo said at the signing of the “Covenant Vision of a Robredo Presidency” with the Alliance of Labor Leaders for Leni Robredo (ALL4Leni). “The 2022 elections are important, especially now that the big political families have joined forces. This is our opportunity to hit the reset button that if we defeat them, we can begin a different kind of politics where everyone will have a chance,” she added. She said the inclusion of labor leader Sonny Matula in her senatorial slate is a “symbolism” that she and her team are serious in starting a change in politics. “Maybe attorney Sonny will have difficulty because we’re still in the old politics, but since this is already turning into a people’s movement, anything is possible. Our strength lies in our hands. I hope you don’t lose hope because this is one chance where we can start change, not immediately, but in order to reach our goals… each step is precious,” Robredo said mostly in Filipino.
‘Drug war’ victims’ kin to ICC: No genuine local probe, no investigation into Duterte accountability | PHILSTAR.COM – There is no genuine domestic investigation into President Rodrigo Duterte’s “war on drugs” and the probe does not cover policy review, families of victims told International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan amid the Philippine government’s request for deferment. Sectoral group Rise Up, assisted by the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, wrote to Khan and asked his office to have the communication they sent be considered the same in the assessment of the Philippine government’s deferral request. This was after Khan said, in a document dated November 18, that his office will temporarily suspend its investigation into the Philippines as it “assesses the scope and effect” of the government’s request for deferral. But Rise Up asserted: “Contrary to the claim of the Philippine government, there is no genuine domestic investigation much less prosecution being conducted into crimes against humanity, in the context of ‘War on Drugs’ campaign.”
Robredo on Bong Go’s withdrawal from presidential race: ‘It’s his right’ | INQUIRER.NET – Vice President and presidential aspirant Leni Robredo on Tuesday said that it was Sen. Bong Go’s right to withdraw his candidacy for president in the 2022 national elections. “Karapatan niya naman iyon. Karapatan niyang magdesisyon kung ayaw niya nang ituloy iyong kanyang candidacy,” Robredo told reporters. (That is his right. He has the right to decide if he does not want to pursue his candidacy.) This came after Go earlier announced that he was backing out from the presidential race, saying he does not want President Rodrigo Duterte trapped in the middle ahead of the 2022 elections. Meanwhile, Robredo said that Go’s withdrawal will not affect her own campaign for candidacy. “Kami kasi iyong lakad namin hindi naman relative to other candidates, eh. Iyong lakad namin, tuloy-tuloy lang kami,” Robredo said. (Our walk is not relative to other candidates. We will just keep going.) “Hindi naman kami apektado ng mga nag-sa-substitute, umaalis. Sa amin, klaro sa amin kung ano ang dapat naming gawin,” she added. (We are not affected by those who substitute or withdraw. To us, our goal is already clear.)
PH logs 425 more COVID-19 cases, lowest since July 2020 | Manila Bulletin – The Department of Health (DOH) once again recorded a low number of new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases on Tuesday, Nov. 30. According to records, Monday’s figures is the lowest single-day count since July 2, 2020 wherein only 294 cases were recorded. The new number of cases brings the country’s tally since the onset of the pandemic to 2,832,734. Meanwhile, active infections continue to decline and stood at 15,800 which accounts for 0.6 percent of the overall case count. Of the active cases recorded, 47.5 percent were mild, 24.42 percent were moderate, 16 percent were severe, 6.8 percent were critical while 5.3 percent were asymptomatic. A total of 909 have recovered bringing total recoveries to 2,768,389 accounting for 97.7 percent of the total cases while 44 have died bringing the COVID-19 death toll to 48,545 which accounts for 1.71 percent of the total cases.
