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(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 13)— The government will look into a report allegedly showing the dumping of human waste by Chinese ships in the Spratly Islands, the Department of Defense said.

In a statement on Tuesday, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said he has directed authorities to “verify and investigate” the report of US-based geospatial imagery firm Simularity, which supposedly revealed that Beijing’s vessels have been causing long-term marine life damage by dumping waste and sewage in the reefs.

“While we are confirming and verifying these wastes being dumped in the WPS, we consider such irresponsible acts, if true, to be gravely detrimental to the marine ecology in the area,” Lorenzana said, adding that all nations staking their claims on the South China Sea “must be responsible stewards of our natural resources and environment.”

A number of lawmakers, including Senators Ralph Recto, Risa Hontiveros, and Francis Tolentino, earlier urged the Duterte administration to take a more proactive role following the circulation of the Simularity report, which purportedly showed that the sewage discharge has led to an increase in chlorophyll A pigment.

Simularity said chlorophyll A concentration leads to excess phytoplankton which cannot be consumed by the reef inhabitants, which die and sink to the sea floor to be consumed by bacteria.

It also warned that damage to the reefs directly affects the fish stocks of the entire South China Sea, where the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam have claims, but is mostly contested by China. The reported added the ceaseless dumping of raw sewage may lead to a hunger crisis and a collapse of commercial fishing as the size of fish stock in the disputed waters is directly linked to the health of its reefs.

Lorenzana, however, still raised questions over the report.

“The photo of a ship seen dumping waste accompanying the report was found to have been taken in the Australian Great Barrier Reef in 2014,” Lorenzana said. “Therefore this intent to mislead has cast great doubt on the accurateness of the Simularity Report.”

The Environment Department earlier said it will coordinate with the DND and Coast Guard to authenticate the report and verify if Chinese vessels were involved in the incidents. If proven, it said it will “seek the attention” of the Chinese government through the Department of Foreign Affairs… Read More

(SunStar) THE Department of Health (DOH) on Monday, July 12, 2021, reported 100 additional mortalities from coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), pushing the country’s death toll past 26,000.

In its case bulletin Monday, the DOH also reported over 5,000 new infections for five consecutive days.

As of July 12, the Covid-19 case count in the country has reached 1,478,061, including the 5,204 new infections and less the 12 duplicates that were removed as well as 156 cases that were deactivated after they were tagged by the local epidemiology and surveillance units as duplicates.

Of these 168 duplicates, 159 were previously tagged as recoveries and six were initially reported as deaths.

The new mortalities, which included 62 cases that were previously tagged as recoveries, raised the death toll to 26,015, which constitute 1.76 percent of the total case count… Read More

(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila — The government has done everything in its power in affirming the landmark decision siding with the Philippines over its maritime dispute with China, Malacañang said Monday.

“We have done all that we could, given the absence po of an enforcement mechanism under international law,” said Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque during his regular briefing.

He said the government took all possible steps to breathe life into the ruling, which marks its fifth anniversary today.

“Kasama na po ‘yung pagtatalumpati ng Presidente sa ating UN General Assembly na sinabi niya na kabahagi na po ng international law ang arbitral decision na ‘yan,” said Roque, referring to President Rodrigo Duterte’s speech before the United Nations body in September last year.

[Translation: It includes the President’s speech before the UN General Assembly where he said the arbitral decision is already part of international law.]

On July 12, 2016, a five-member arbitral tribunal in The Hague ruled unanimously in favor of Manila and invalidated Beijing’s sweeping claims over the South China Sea — a decision the East Asian giant continues to reject.

READ: Remembering the 2016 Hague ruling: What has happened since then?

While the President has received praise even from his critics for his speech at the international assembly, he also drew flak for saying months later that Manila’s arbitral win is just a piece of paper he can throw in a waste basket.

Duterte has likewise been consistently criticized for his amicable attitude towards China, despite its numerous transgressions in the West Philippine Sea.

This year, the Philippines has filed a string of diplomatic protests against China due to the presence of its militia vessels in the contested waters. Its latest filing was against Beijing’s imposition of a fishing ban in the South China Sea… Read More

(SunStar) PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) Chief Guillermo Eleazar has ordered the filing of administrative and criminal charges against eight policemen who were caught falsifying their swab test results.

Eleazar said the policemen tried to enter Zamboanga City on July 5, 2021 from Isabela and Lamitan in Basilan.

“They were on board MV Cassey Beatrise and MV Crystal Jane when intercepted by local health officials at the Zamboanga port. Upon verification, it was discovered that their Covid-19 test results were fake,” he said.

Criminal charges of violation of Section 9, Paragraph B (tampering of records or intentionally providing misinformation) of Republic Act 11332 or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act will be filed against them.

The police officers were fined, placed in quarantine and subjected to reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing before they were sent back to their respective ports of origin… Read More

(GMA News) Many families spent Sunday outdoors following the government’s latest policy allowing children aged five years old and up to go outside amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Dano Tingcungco’s report on “24 Oras Weekend,” families went strolling along the Bay Walk earlier in the day with their children.

“Hindi ho siya makatulog kasi excited. Ngayon lang po siya nakalabas eh parang nagugulat siya kaya tahimik,” a mother said.

(He couldn’t sleep. It’s the first time he’s been out for a while. He’s not sure what to make of it.)

With their children locked down inside the house for over a year, parents said this latest policy would help promote their children’s physical and mental well-being amid the health crisis.

“Okay naman po ngayon kasi ‘pag sa loob po sila ng bahay, madalas ‘yong tantrums nila eh,” a mother said.

(This is okay. When they’re inside, they throw tantrums.)

Some families also went to the Riverbank in Marikina.

“‘Yong mga bata kasi na-i-stress na rin sa bahay eh. Malaking bagay din ito pero doble ingat pa rin,” a father said.

(The kids are stressed out at home. Being out, it’s a big deal. Nevertheless, we’re still being careful.)

Earlier, the government allowed those aged five years old and above to go outdoors in selected areas. The policy is in effect in areas under a general community quarantine and modified GCQ.

The new guidelines, however, do not cover those in areas under a GCQ “with heightened restrictions,” which includes Laguna and Cavite.

The Quezon City government, meanwhile, designated several open-air locations in the city as “child-friendly safe zones” where minors could engage in outdoor activities, non-contact sports, and exercise… Read More

(GMA News) Forty-nine percent of Filipino families feel they are poor, a survey by the Social Weather Stations showed.

According to the results of the national Social Weather Survey conducted from April 28 to May 2, 33% rated themselves as borderline poor and 17% of Filipino families rated themselves as not poor.

The SWS said that the results were similar to a survey conducted in November 2020, which found that only 16% rated themselves as not poor, 48% rated themselves as poor, and 36% rated themselves as borderline poor.

The survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adult Filipinos nationwide.

It has a sampling error of ±3% for national percentages and ±6% for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

The area estimates were weighted by the Philippine Statistics Authority medium-population projections for 2021 to obtain the national estimates.

Results of the survey showed that 30% of Filipino families in Metro Manila rated themselves as not poor, 31% rated themselves as borderline poor, and 39% rated themselves as poor.

“Metro Manila is the only area where the proportion of families feeling Not Poor fell. The proportion feeling Borderline Poor rose (from 14% to 31%), along with a decline in both the proportions feeling Not Poor and feeling Poor,” the SWS said.

Meanwhile, 45% of Filipino families n Luzon rated themselves as poor, 31% as not poor, and 24% as borderline poor.

In the Visayas, 56% rated themselves as poor, 39% as borderline poor, and 5% as not poor while 59% rated themselves as poor in Mindanao, 35% rated themselves as borderline poor, and 6% rated themselves as not poor.

According to the SWS, 32% of Filipinos families said they are food poor, 23% said they are non-food poor, while 45% said they are borderline food poor.

The agency noted that the number of families which said they were food poor rose in Mindanao while those that answered that they were not food poor decreased in Metro Manila.

The survey found that 44% of families in Mindanao said they were food poor, 48% said they were borderline, while 8% said they were not food poor.

In Metro Manila, 31% rated themselves as food poor, 39% as borderline, and 31% rated themselves as not food poor.

Meanwhile, 25% of families in Balance Luzon said they are food poor, 42% said they are borderline, and 33% said they are not food poor while 35% rated themselves as food poor in the Visayas, 53% as borderline, and 12% as not food poor… Read More

(SunStar) CHILDREN five years old and above are now allowed to go out in areas under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) and general community quarantine (GCQ), Malacañang announced Friday, July 9, 2021.

But they are not allowed in malls and other mixed use indoor/outdoor buildings and facilities, based on Resolution 125 of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Children in areas under GCQ with heightened restrictions, namely Cavite and Laguna, are also not covered by this latest resolution.

Outdoor areas are limited to parks, playgrounds, beaches, biking and hiking trails, outdoor tourist sites and attractions as may be defined by the Department of Tourism, outdoor non-contact sports courts and venues, and al fresco dining establishments.

However, the children must be accompanied by adults and must follow minimum public health standards, such as physical distancing, and wearing of face masks and face shields… Read More

(CNN Philippines) Another Duterte may run for the country’s top post in the 2022 national elections as Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte on Friday said she is now “open” to seeking the presidency.

“Yes,” the daughter of President Rodrigo Duterte said when asked in a chance interview if she is open to running for president next year. However, she added there is no final decision yet.

The Davao City mayor was in Cebu for a closed-door meeting with Gov. Gwen Garcia at the Provincial Capitol.

She said the discussions did not touch politics, but added that she told Garcia she would be back in Cebu soon with her Hugpong Ng Pagbabago party to further consult supporters.

Duterte also thanked Cebuanos who have put up “Run, Sara, Run” tarpaulins in Cebu and other localities for “their trust and confidence in me.”

“Ang importante sa pagkakaron is mahibal an namo kung unsay ginahunahuna sa mga tawo ug unsay gusto sa mga tawo,” she told reporters.

[Translation: What is important now is that we know the sentiments of the people and what they really want.]

The mayor previously insisted she will not run for president next year despite emerging as the top choice in recent surveys. Her father had also discouraged her from running, saying the presidency is no job for a woman… Read More