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(SunStar) CORONAVIRUS disease (Covid-19) cases in the Philippines continued to increase with over 1,700 new infections recorded on a daily basis.

Based on the latest Covid-19 national situationer, the Department of Health (DOH) said the average daily cases for July 8 to 14 was at 1,751, which is higher by 40 percent than the 1,247 daily cases recorded on July 1 to 7.

“National case trend shows continuous increase (and is) now averaging more than 1,700 cases per day in the recent week,” said the DOH.

“Most areas show sharp increase in Covid-19 cases,” it added.

This has resulted in a national weekly positivity rate increasing to 10.6 percent.

Ten of the 17 regions in the country also registered positivity rates of above the five percent threshold set by the World Health Organization (WHO).

These regions are the National Capital Region (NCR), Cordillera Administrative Region, Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, and Northern Mindanao.

The NCR, in particular, has a weekly positivity rate of 13.0 percent.

This corresponds to the continued increase in the average daily reported cases in Metro Manila, which were at 748 for July 8 to 14. This is 29 percent higher than the 582 cases recorded on July 1 to 7.

“The NCR is showing the steepest increase and is now showing almost at 750 cases per day,” said the DOH… Read More

(Voice Of America) BEIJING —
The U.S. Navy on Wednesday sailed a destroyer close to China-controlled islands in the South China Sea in what Washington said was a patrol aimed at asserting freedom of navigation through the strategic seaway.

The guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold sailed past the Paracel Islands and continued thereafter with operations in the South China Sea.

The operation “upheld the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release.

Such operations are considered key to the U.S. Navy maintaining its presence in the Indo-Pacific, where China has grown its presence through a massive ship building campaign.

Beijing has also alarmed the U.S., Australia and New Zealand with the signing of a mutual defense agreement with the Solomon Islands, under which it could receive Chinese troops in emergencies and possibly establish a permanent Chinese military presence.

In response to the Benfold’s passage, China’s Southern Theater Command tracked the vessel’s movements and ordered it to leave the area, Air Force Col. Tian Junli was quoted as saying on the Defense Ministry’s website… Read More

(Journal Online) MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Procter & Gamble (P&G) Philippines, whose portfolio has been trusted over the years for its premium health care, home care, beauty, and grooming products, continues to be a great place to work as it prioritizes employees’ wellbeing for a smooth transition to return to the office safely

As our country recovers from the ongoing pandemic, government alert levels have been reduced to lessen remaining economic restrictions and allow recovery in economic growth. This prompted some companies to return to their offices.

Working in a physical office has benefits for both employees and companies: it allows for better coaching or mentoring, especially for the new hires, and more focused productivity and optimized collaboration in creating innovative ideas. However, there are also benefits from giving employees more flexibility to manage their time between work and personal lives which is something that P&G recognizes. P&G pioneered flexible working arrangements and working from home since the early 2000s and now since the pandemic, has established stricter safety protocols and procedures in their offices to safeguard everyone’s wellbeing towards a better normal… Read More

(Radio Free Asia) Filipino nationalists and activists pressed new President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to actively assert their country’s territorial rights, as the Philippines marked the sixth anniversary on Tuesday of an arbitration court’s ruling that invalidated Beijing’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea.

About 50 activists assembled outside China’s consulate in Makati, the financial district of the Philippine capital, where they carried signs demanding that Chinese ships and boats stay out of the West Philippine Sea, Manila’s name for its South China Sea territories.

“The issue of the territorial dispute is not just an abstract question of sovereignty, of access to resources,” Benjamin Miguel Alvero, a spokesman for the West Philippine Sea Coalition, the group that led the protest, told BenarNews.

Last month, officials reported that 100 Chinese ships were seen swarming in the Julian Filipe Reef alone – one of the areas inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) – but they did not update those figures on Tuesday… Read More

(The Manila Times) AS the country struggles to recover from the pandemic’s economic impact, neophyte Sen. Robinhood Padilla on Tuesday, July 12 vowed to prioritize economic reforms over federalism if he finally gets the chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes when the 19th Congress opens its regular session on July 25.

“If I finally get the Committee on Constitutional Amendments, I will prioritize tackling the economic reforms. Without economic reforms in the Constitution, no system or form of government [will prosper],” Padilla said in a text message.

“We cannot recover. We need foreign direct investments (FDI). We have to do it now before it’s late,” he added.

The Philippines ranks 4th out of 84 countries in the FDI regulatory restrictiveness index by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Most of the other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) countries like Vietnam, Myanmar, Singapore and Cambodia are at the bottom half of the list… Read More

(GMA News) Cops arrested a 19-year-old suspect in Nabas town in Aklan province for breaking into a house and scuffling for a gun with his victims.

According to Zen Quilantang’s report on “24 Oras,” the suspect identified as Ian Sinag, was caught on CCTV footage while entering his victims’ house.

The footage also showed him going down and hiding when he heard someone running downstairs, who turned out to the female house owner carrying a gun.

When the woman saw Sinag, he pointed the gun at him but a scuffle ensued. The daughter of the house owner was also seen rushing downstairs to help her mother.

Sinag was able to wrestle the gun from the victims and fled through the second floor’s window.

“Isa sa mga dahilan na hindi siya nagpaputok ay ang bata. Makikita sa video na tumulong pa ang bata pero malaki ang suspek, hindi agad niya binaril. Ayon sa biktima, iniisip niya na baka matamaan ang bata kaya nag-decide siya na huwag magpaputok,” Police Lieutenant Moonyen de Joseph, Nabas Municipal Police chief, said.

(One of the reasons why she did not attack the suspect is because of her daughter. As you can see in the video, the kid was helping her mom but the suspect is big, that’s why she did not shoot him. According to the victim, she was thinking that her child might get hurt.)

The local police added they were able to locate Sinag through the CCTV footage and with the help of netizens… Read More

(Manila Bulletin) It’s all about heart, hard work, and family support.

One cannot talk about Miss Universe Philippines 2022 Celeste Cortesi and her “uniquely beautiful” journey without mentioning her supportive family. At a young age, and more so now as she steps on to the bigger stage, Celeste continues to look to her family for strength and inspiration.

In her most nerve-wracking moments, the Filipino-Italian beauty queen would just have to go back to her youth when her father used to read her and her sister bedtime poems. She would also get her inspiration from her mother who had managed to raise two children as a single mother in a foreign country,
following the passing of Celeste’s father.

“My family truly is my anchor and lodestone. Without them, I will not find the strength nor the confidence to pursue my dreams. With them, I am able to do better and be my uniquely beautiful self, Cortesi to Manila Bulletin Lifestyle.

Dreaming bigger
For Celeste, no dream is too big, and no step is too small to start off the journey. Born in Pasay City, The Philippines’ Miss Universe 2022 moved to Italy with her family when she was 11 years old. In Rome, she shuffled different jobs and modeling. She bravely moved back to Manila alone to pursue her pageant dreams… Read More

(Global Voices) Several media groups found lies and inaccurate statements in the inaugural speech of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. which he delivered in front of the National Museum in Manila during his inauguration ceremonies.

Marcos was proclaimed president on June 30, despite allegations of irregularities that marred the May 9 national and local elections.

There were also questions about Marcos’s candidate eligibility as he has been criminally convicted of tax evasion.

Marcos is the son and namesake of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos who ruled the country for two decades until his ouster during the peaceful People Power uprising in 1986. The Marcos family is accused of looting billions of dollars from the national treasury when they were in power. They continue to deny that abuses were committed during the Philippines’ Martial Law years.

Human rights groups believe that the Marcoses used ill-gotten wealth to regain political clout over the past three decades by spreading false narratives about the dictatorship. These lies are found on YouTube, Facebook, TikTok and other social media platforms which enabled the Marcoses to whitewash their violent reign and erase their notorious role in undermining the country’s economy and democracy.

Marcos’s inaugural speech shows how important disinformation was in his successful electoral bid, as his speech contained several lies and misleading assertions… Read More