COVID-19
Cases
Metro Manila’s Covid-19 positivity rate exceeds WHO benchmark — OCTA
The Covid-19 positivity rate in Metro Manila has increased to 5.5 percent, which is above the 5 percent benchmark recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), a fellow of the OCTA Research Group said on Wednesday, June 22.
Manila Bulletin | Inquirer | Philstar
Octa: No need to raise alert level in Metro Manila despite rising COVID-19 cases
Rising COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila do not call for an increase in alert levels, a fellow at independent analytics group Octa Research said on Wednesday.
Inquirer
Department of Health
DOH reports over 39,000 dengue cases from January to June
The country has so far tallied 39,705 dengue cases from January 1 to June 4 this year, the Department of Health reported on Wednesday.
CNN
DOH sees significant increase in COVID-19 cases
The Department of Health (DOH) is seeings a significant increase in COVID-19 cases and a possible peak that may reach as high as 2,000 daily cases in the National Capital Region (NCR) toward the end of July.
Inquirer
Mindanao
1 hurt in gun attack; 1 suspect nabbed
ONE person was injured while another escaped unscathed in a gun attack Wednesday, June 22, in Zamboanga City, the police reported.
SunStar
World
Afghanistan earthquake kills at least 1,000
The death toll from an earthquake in Afghanistan on Wednesday, June 22, hit 1,000, disaster management officials said, with more than 600 injured and the toll expected to grow as information trickles in from remote mountain villages.
Rappler | Inquirer
Ukraine’s Zelensky looks to EU offer as Russia pounds cities
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday hailed the European Union’s expected offer of candidate status for his battle-weary nation as Russian forces pounded Ukraine’s second-biggest city Kharkiv and the eastern Donbas region.
Inquirer
AUDIT, GRAFT, AND CORRUPTION
POGOs still owe Pagcor P2.33 billion – COA
The state-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) has yet to collect P2.328 billion as its share in the income of Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) more than a year since the amount fell due, according to the Commission on Audit (COA).
Inquirer
Ex-Pampanga congresswoman suffers from dementia, PDAF scam trial suspended
The anti-graft court Sandiganbayan has archived the charges of graft and malversation against former Pampanga Representative Zenaida Ducut after lawyers weighed testimonies and evidence that she is suffering from dementia.
Rappler
BUSINESS, ECONOMY AND INVESTMENT
Peso weakens further
Yesterday’s close was the weakest for the peso in 16 years and eight months, or since settling at P54.47:$1 on Nov. 21, 2005.
Inquirer | Business Mirror
PSEi plunges to one-year low as investor uncertainties grow
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) weakened to a new one-year low on Wednesday as investors continued to sell off their positions amid uncertainties brought about by a slew of factors from inflation to rate hike plans.
Inquirer
MARCOS-DUTERTE ADMINISTRATION
Año: No security threats at Marcos inauguration
There are no perceived security threats to the inauguration of president-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., according to Interior Secretary Eduardo Año.
PhilStar
INFORMATION, COMMUNICATION AND TECHNOLOGY
Groups condemn govt order to block news sites
Press freedom and human rights watchdogs on Wednesday lambasted the National Security Council's order to block access to news sites allegedly linked to communist rebels, branding the move as a new effort to silence organizations that are critical of the government.
CNN | Inquirer | PhilStar
Telcos ordered to block 27 websites with alleged communist ties
Invoking the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) of 2020, the government has blocked access to over two dozen websites of groups allegedly allied with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), including several legal above-ground progressive groups and two online news organizations, officials said on Wednesday.
Inquirer
NTC order to block red-tagged sites can be challenged – Carpio
The Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) has no authority to ban the websites of independent media and progressive groups being linked to the communist rebels, retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said on Wednesday.
Inquirer
Municipal/Regional Trial Courts
Agusan court reverses ruling, orders rearrest of Doc Naty
The Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Bayugan City has ordered anew the arrest of Dr. Maria Natividad Castro, community health advocate and human rights activist, after it reversed its ruling for the dismissal of her kidnapping and serious illegal detention case.
MindaNews | PhilStar
LABOR
126,000 health workers’ benefits remain snagged
More than 126,000 medical frontliners from the private sector have yet to receive their sickness and death benefits as provided for in the two Bayanihan laws that President Duterte signed during the two-year pandemic.
PhilStar
Department of Migrant Workers to go after illegal recruiters on social media platforms—Ople
The days of illegal recruitment of Filipinos via Facebook and other social media platforms may soon be over, as incoming secretary of Department of Migrant Workers Susan “Toots” Ople vowed to go after them.
Business Mirror
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
Low output, blocked imports spark sugar shortage fears
The sugar supply situation in the Philippines has taken a turn for the worse as the industry’s government regulator warned of a shortage in raw sugar, with manufacturers now forced to source the product locally, competing for already limited supplies in the market.
Inquirer
Dar supports bringing back Marcos’ Masagana 99: Correct mistakes if any, strengthen program
Outgoing Agriculture Secretary William Dar is in favor of bringing back Masagana 99, an agriculture program during the administration of former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., to boost rice production and farmer productivity.
CNN
Salceda pushes tax perks for agriculture sector
Albay Rep. Joey Salceda is urging the incoming Marcos administration to hasten tax perks for agricultural subsectors under the Strategic Investment Promotion Plan (SIPP) which will be the “country’s top instrument of industrial planning.”
Inquirer
TRANSPORTATION
LTFRB: Supplemental budget needed to sustain ‘Libreng Sakay’ program
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board’s (LTFRB) “Libreng Sakay” program, will need a supplemental budget from the incoming administration for its sustained operations, an official said Thursday.
Inquirer | PhilStar
WATER and ENERGY
PH withdraws from global transparency initiative on mining, fuel
The Philippines has exited from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) over what it calls a “subjective, biased and unfair” quality assurance assessment process of the country’s compliance with requirements.
CNN
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