Manila Standard - 2020 October 6 - Tuesday

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Distance learning signals rough run By Vito Barcelo, Willie Casas and Macon Ramos-Araneta

T

HE Department of Education received around 16,000 reports about different concerns related to the opening of classes for public schools on Monday as old problems mixed with new challenges, Undersecretary Jess Mateo said.

As over 22 million public school students begin to venture into distance and blended learning, some were not able to join their virtual classes due to unreliable internet connectivity. Online and modular learning are Next page

VOL. XXXIV • NO. 214 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2020 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

WHERE’S THE SIGNAL? Teachers at Sto. Nino National High School in Batangas City raise their phones while on the roof of the school to connect to the Internet and continue to perform their duties to their students on the first day of classes on Monday. The pupils include Coleen Giselle Ahilon (inset left) and Churt Iverson Steven Ordones, who start their online learning from home using mobile phones and printed learning modules from their home in Mandaluyong City. GMA News via Twitter and Norman Cruz with AFP

PH moves to 19th spot in world 16 more to be charged over PhilHealth fund mess COVID tally, logs 324,762 cases COVID-19 PH AT A GLANCE

(AS OF 4 PM OCT. 5)

324,762 TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES

2,291 45,799 NEW

ACTIVE

5,840

64

273,123

87

DEATHS

RECOVERIES

NEW

NEW

By Willie Casas and Rey E. Requejo

By Willie Casas THE Philippines logged on Monday 2,291 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 324,762­—and to 19th place among nations with active cases worldwide—the Department of Health (DOH) reported. The latest tally by the US-based Johns Hopkins University showed that the Philippines—the only Southeast Asian country among 20 with the most COVID-19 cases—is trailing Italy, which has 325,329 infections at 18th place. The Philippines also has just 319 more cases than No. 20 Turkey as of Monday. The Philippines rose to the top 20 on Oct. 1 when its cumulative coronavirus infections reached 314,079. The United States still tops the tally with over 7.4 million cases and 210,000-plus deaths. Next page

THE Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission will file charges against 16 more officials of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) as it continues its investigation into the loss of billions of pesos at the state insurer. The investigation of the PACC as part

of the presidential task force and as an independent body is ongoing, said Commissioner Greco Belgica on Monday. The task force created to look into anomalies in PhilHealth earlier filed a criminal complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman against former PhilHealth president and CEO Ricardo Morales and seven other agency officials. “Aside from the eight charged by the

Task Force, we will file 16 more charges, and an additional 40 are under investigation," he told ABS-CBN's Teleradyo without elaborating. "The investigation is still ongoing, and our focus is to build up airtight cases against those who should be sued. This is not a one-time thing. It’s one thing to expose, it’s another to build up a case that will stand in Next page court," Belgica said.

Palace hails Rody’s high trust rating Duterte wishes By Vito Barcelo Trump, Melania speedy recovery MALACAÑANG on Monday thanked the Filipino people for giving their trust to President Rodrigo Duterte who received high approval and trust scores in the latest Pulse Asia survey amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Duterte’s score of 91 percent on both approval and trust showed the public deplores politicking and that the President was doing the right thing to help Filipinos amid the global health crisis. Duterte’s scores in the Sept.14-20 survey of Pulse Asia were up from his prepandemic approval rating of 87 percent and his approval rating of 91 percent in December 2019. Duterte scored the highest approval rating among the five highest government officials. The survey, conducted Sept. 14-20,

showed Duterte with a 91 percent approval rating and a 5 percent disapproval rating. Referencing a slight 1 percent drop in the rating of Vice President Leni Robredo, a vocal critic of the administration, Roque said the President’s ratings showed that the public rejects polticking while the nation deals with the impact of the pandemic. Robredo’s approval ratings went down by a hairline at 57 percent in the latest survey from 58 percent in the previous one. A vocal critic of the Duterte's administration's efforts to address the pandemic, she has a 22 percent disapproval rating and 21 percent undecided rating. The survey was conducted following the President’s decision to extend the state of calamity in the country until September 2021 and the signing of the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, which provides a COVID-19 relief package worth P165.5 billion. Next page

By Vito Barcelo PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte wished US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania a speedy recovery after the couple tested positive for the coronavirus 2019, Malacañang said Monday. Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said that the President and Trump were “close friends,” adding that their friendship become closer after the US President visited the Philippines in November 2017 forth ASEAN Summit. “You know, President Duterte and President Trump are close friends. He wishes President Trump and his wife, First Lady Melania, a full and speedy Next page

Beep cards now free, QR code up

By Vito Barcelo and Maricel V. Cruz

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte is not in favor of beep cards being sold to passengers at EDSA Busway as it only adds to the burden of people who are already suffering due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Malacañang said on Monday. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque Next page

DILG chides FB for unfair action

By Macon Ramos-Araneta CASH AND CARD. A collector gathers payments in cash (top photo) and through the Beep card system (above) from passengers on the EDSA Busway system on Monday, as President Rodrigo Duterte opposed the imposition of charges for the use of Beep cards in the rides and the Department of Transportation suspended the mandatory use of the cards over additional fees for their use. GMANews via Twitter

THE Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has expressed its concern over social media giant Facebook’s unilateral act of taking down supposedly fake Philippine accounts that were allegedly linked to the military and Next page

HIS HAPPY PLACE. In this photo taken from his Facebook account, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque spreads his arms at the shores of Boracay, where he observed the island’s reopening to tourists over the weekend. He later urged Filipinos to take a vacation in the wake of the months-long coronavirus lockdowns (story on A2).

ROQUE TO PINOYS: US-BRIT TRIO WINS GO ON VACATION NOBEL MED PRIZE NEWS / A2

NEWS / A2


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