Saturday, June 26, 2021

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/

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New Covid-19 cases exceed 6,000 for 3rd day

Posted: 26 Jun 2021 02:13 AM PDT

THE Department of Health (DOH) reported more than 6,000 new cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) for the third consecutive day on Saturday, June 26, 2021.

In its case bulletin, the DOH listed 6,871 new cases, 92 additional deaths and 8,720 recoveries.

The new cases brought the total case count to 1,391,911, including 24,244 deaths and 1,314,220 recoveries.

Three laboratories were not able to submit their data to the Covid-19 Document Repository System (CDRS).

There remained 53,447 active cases as of June 24. Of these cases, 89.4 percent were mild, 5.7 percent were asymptomatic, 2 percent were severe, 1.4 percent were critical and 1.4 percent were moderate. (HDT / SunStar Philippines)

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Benigno ‘PNoy’ Aquino III laid to rest

Posted: 26 Jun 2021 12:03 AM PDT

(UPDATED) Former President Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" C. Aquino III, 61, was laid to rest with full military honors shortly before 2 p.m. Saturday, June 26, 2021.

The urn containing the cremated remains of Aquino was interred beside his parents, the late former senator Benigno "Ninoy" S. Aquino Jr. and the late former President Corazon "Cory" C. Aquino, at the Manila Memorial Park.

Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, in his homily during the funeral mass for Aquino Saturday morning, described the former President who was also known as PNoy as a "brave, headstrong visionary" whose focused vision was the rule of his leadership.

"PNoy died as he lived. He served without fanfare. He abhorred power trappings and power tripping. He slipped away quietly as much as possible disturbing no one. Walang wang-wang, very PNoy and not surprising," Villegas said.

He hoped that Aquino's "death will spark another fire within us to resurrect his example of decency and integrity."

Villegas, a former president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, urged Filipinos to take notice of what is happening in the country.

"Eulogies have been written and spoken and shared. But the best eulogy tribute we can pay to our dear President Noy is to bring back, recover, preserve, safeguard and never again to compromise our dignity as a people and the decency of our leaders as servants, not bosses," Villegas said.

"The flags at half-mast are not only for the dead President, but for the dying decent governance. Tayo ang boss n'ya. He lived by it. We are grateful for it," he added.

Aquino was the 15th President of the Philippines, serving from 2010 to 2016.

He died in his sleep as the sun rose on June 24, 2021. His family later announced that his death certificate traced his death to renal disease secondary to diabetes.

During his administration, the Philippines stood up to China and won an arbitration ruling that dismissed China's nine-dash claim over the South China Sea.

He was charged over the Mamasapano bloodbath that killed 60 people, including 44 Special Action Forces men. But the Supreme Court cleared him of all charges.

His administration was also criticized over its handling of the aftermath of the Supertyphoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in November 2013 and the Dengvaxia controversy that erupted in December 2017.

A funeral mass was held for Aquino Saturday at the Church of the Gesu inside the Ateneo de Manila University, where public viewing of the urn containing his remains was held Friday, June 25. ADMU is the alma mater of Aquino.

Throughout the day on June 25, the Armed Forces of the Philippines rendered a 21-gun salute, firing a cannon every 30 minutes from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., to honor their former Commander in Chief.

After eldest sister Ballsy Aquino-Cruz gave her eulogy towards the end of the requiem mass on Saturday, a standing ovation for about three minutes was rendered for the late President.

After the mass, a convoy of vehicles transported the urn to the Manila Memorial Park. It was met with a water salute upon exiting ADMU and another water salute just before entering the memorial park.

Along the route, scores of Filipinos waved yellow ribbons and flashed the Laban (fight) sign as the convoy passed. The yellow ribbon is the symbol of the Aquino legacy while the Laban sign was the gesture used in the struggle against the Marcos dictatorship and during Cory's campaign for the 1986 snap presidential elections. More supporters waited at the entrance to and inside the park.

A 21-gun salute was rendered just before a funeral march led by a brigade-sized military contingent was held inside the memorial park with members of the Aquino family, relatives, friends, political allies and supporters. Philippine Air Force helicopters dropped flowers as they flew by.

Another water salute was rendered as the funeral march neared the Aquino tomb and another 21-gun salute was fired as honor guards held the Philippine flag over the urn shortly before the inurnment.

Military camps across the country simultaneously rendered gun salutes as AFP Chief of Staff Cirilito Sobejana handed the flag over to Aquino-Cruz. The camps involved were Camp Aguinaldo (AFP headquarters) in Quezon City, Fort Del Pilar (Philippine Military Academy) in Baguio City, Northern Luzon Command in Tarlac, Southern Luzon Command in Quezon Province, Western Command in Palawan. Central Command in Cebu City, Eastern Mindanao Command in Davao City and Western Mindanao Command in Zamboanga City.

The four Aquino sisters - Ballsy, Pinky, Viel and Kris - took turns hugging the urn containing their brother's remains before youngest sister Kris placed it inside the tomb.

President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered a 10-day period of national mourning for Aquino until July 3, during which the Philippine flag is flown at half-staff in all government buildings nationwide.

In a statement, the AFP said it will observe 30 days of mourning from the notice of death on June 25, during which all military personnel will wear black armbands over the left arm sleeves of their uniform. The flag will be flown at half-staff in all military camps until July 4. (Marites Villamor-Ilano with a report from HDT / SunStar Philippines)

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Voters told to shun politicians on premature campaign trail

Posted: 25 Jun 2021 11:38 PM PDT

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Saturday, June 26, 2021, advised voters to shun politicians who have been prematurely campaigning for the May 2022 national and local elections.

In a social media post, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said the poll body is powerless against premature campaigning.

"There is something you can do: Vote for someone else," Jimenez addressed voters.

"We can't do anything about it unless Congress changes the law. So let us make use of our votes... if you want anything to change," said Jimenez.

Jimenez said propaganda materials aimed at promoting a particular individual ahead of the campaign season can be considered premature campaigning.

"Even if there are no words 'vote for' whoever - as long as its effect is to increase the chances of one getting elected, that is considered campaign propaganda material," said Jimenez.

Republic Act 9369, or the Poll Automation Law, provides that "any person who files his certificate of candidacy (COC) shall only be considered as a candidate at the start of the campaign period" and that "unlawful acts applicable to a candidate shall be in effect only upon that start of the campaign period."

This provision was affirmed by the 2009 Supreme Court case of Penera vs. Comelec, which paved the way for the removal of premature campaigning as an election offense.

Among politicians with advertisements on television are Taguig-Pateros Representative Alan Peter Cayetano and Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar.

Those with increased presence on social media are Senator Sherwin Gatchalian and former senator Antonio Trillanes IV, while gatherings have been organized for Senator Christopher Go.

Tarpaulin banners urging Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte are also being posted in key areas across the country. (HDT / SunStar Philippines)

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Transmissible variants heighten need to get vaccine

Posted: 25 Jun 2021 03:16 AM PDT

THE presence of more transmissible variants of the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) has made the vaccines more essential, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director General Eric Domingo said Friday, June 25, 2021.

"We need to speed up our immunization program so that we can prevent the spread of this variant. It is actually more important to get vaccinated now," Domingo said in a media forum, referring to the Delta variant (B.1.617.2).

"Our border control is very strict to make sure that the Delta variant doesn't come in. But if it does come in, it will be harder to spread if we are already vaccinated," he added.

The FDA chief said the report that the vaccine's efficacy is lower against the new variants is not enough reason to shun the vaccine.

"There are studies showing it reduces the efficacy of the vaccines against the variants. But the protection against the virus is not completely lost," he stressed.

In the Philippines, there have been 17 Delta variant cases, all involving returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs).

Domingo also stressed that all vaccines provide a significant amount of protection against Covid-19.

Vaccine that have been issued emergency use authorization by the FDA are safe and effective, he said.

"Whatever brand is better than no vaccine. And that every brand approved by the FDA have been able to meet the level of protection required from a vaccine," he added.

"There is no single brand that can supply vaccines for all Filipinos. This is why we need to spread out the different brands among different populations," he added. (HDT / SunStar Philippines)

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