Manila Standard - 2021 March 25 - Thursday

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Gov’t, Church break standoff IATF hears today CBCP proposal for four-day Masses this Holy Week

By Vito Barcelo and Rey Requejo

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HE government has opened a window for the possible holding of masses at 10 percent capacity from Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday following a stalemate with the Catholic Church over a 14-day ban on religious gatherings to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases will discuss the position of the Catholic Church today (Thursday). “On the table for the IATF’s consideration is the request of the Catholic Church to be allowed a maximum of 10 percent attendance in churches during the Triduum (Holy Thursday-Good Friday-Black Saturday), as well as on Easter Sunday, which will coincide with the celebration of the quincentennial of Christianity in

the Philippines,” Guevarra said. Guevarra has been holding talks with the leadership of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines for two days straight since Tuesday following Malacañang’s announcement that it will not hesitate to use police powers to close down churches that defy the ban.

VOL. XXXV • NO. 43 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2021 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

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CHURCHES CLOSED OFF. The doors of the famous San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Manila are closed to the public on Wednesday following the ban on religious gatherings amid the rise in coronavirus cases. The situation played out in churches across Metro Manila, from the San Juan Dela Cruz Parish in Valenzuela City to the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo and even the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help in Baclaran. Only the Manila Cathedral had a handful of worshippers inside (inset photos). Andrew Rabulan and Norman Cruz

COVID-19 PH AT A GLANCE

(AS OF 4 PM MARCH 24)

684,311 TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES

6,666 91,754 NEW

ACTIVE

13,039

47

DEATHS

NEW

579,518 1,072 RECOVERIES

NEW

Active cases peak at 91.7k, virus uptick rapid Ombudsman to probe vax line jumping

By Willie Casas

THE Philippines logged 6,666 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday as active cases reached a record high of 91,754, the highest since the pandemic hit more than a year ago, the Department of Health (DOH) said. Wednesday’s tally brought the total number of infections to 684,311, and was the sixth highest announced in a single day, and the fifth highest for the year. Forty-seven new deaths brought the total COVID-19 death toll to 13,039, which ias 19.1 percent of total infections.

The DOH also reported that 1,072 patients recovered from the disease, bringing the total recoveries to 579,518, which is 84.7 percent of the total. Active cases are now 13.4 percent of total infections. Of the active cases, 95.3 percent are mild; 2.5 percent are asymptomatic; 0.8 percent are critical; 0.9 percent are severe; and 0.46 percent are moderate. The DOH also reported that, nationwide, 53 percent of the ICU bed capacity are being used; 43 percent of the isolation bed capacity is used; 41 percent of the ward bed capacity is used; and 34 percent of the total units of ventilators

are being used. The DOH also reported that, in Metro Manila; 71 percent of the ICU bed capacity is being used; 68 percent of the isolation bed capacity is used; 51 percent of the ward bed capacity is used; and 51 percent of all ventilators are being used. More than half a million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been given to Filipinos as of Tuesday afternoon, the department said. Another 400,000 doses of donated Sinovac coronavirus vaccines from China arrived on Wednesday. Next page

Australia weights in on Chinese boats’ intrusion Senate approves By Rey E. Requejo and Maricel V. Cruz AUSTRALIA on Wednesday joined the United States and Japan in expressing concern over Chinese incursions in the West Philippine Sea, after Manila protested the presence of more than 200 Chinese vessels moored near the Julian Felipe Reef, which is inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

“We remain concerned about destabilizing actions that could provoke escalation,” Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Steven Robinson said on Twitter. Robinson said Australia supports an Indo-Pacific region that is secure, open and inclusive. “The South China Sea – a crucial international waterway – is governed by international rules and norms, particularly UNCLOS,” he said, referring to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Australia’s statement came just a day after both the United States and Japan spoke out on the issue, opposing any action that would drive up tension in the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea. Earlier, Japan stressed that issues related to the South China Sea are directly related to the region's peace and stability and a "concern for all" as it reiterated support for "free, open, and peaceful seas" and the enforcement of the rule of law. Next page

Phivolcs notes more active Taal, sees magma blast By Rio N. Araja TAAL Volcano has become more active and could have a “magmatic” eruption soon, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said on Wednesday. Phivolcs said the famous volcano in

Batangas has recorded 2,015 volcanic tremors, 734 low-frequency volcanic earthquakes and 18 hybrid earthquake events since February 13, as seismic activity in the area had an "elevated increase." The agency said that "harmonic tremor

associated with magma migration" was the dominant type of earthquake since March 19. "Most earthquake events occurred at shallow depths of (less than) 2 kilometers although some large earthquakes were Next page

franchise of DITO, country’s 3rd telco

By Macon Ramos-Araneta THE Senate on Wednesday approved the franchises of DITO Telecommunity Corp., another telecommunications company, and granted four broadcast franchises on the chamber’s last session day before the Holy Week recess. Sen. Grace Poe, chairperson of the Committee on Public Services, steered the passage of the measures. The franchise of DITO, poised as the country’s third major telco, got the approval of 17 senators, with opposition Senators Risa Hontiveros and Francis Pangilinan voting against it and Sen. Panfilo Lacson abstaining. DITO, owned by Davao-based Dennis Next page

By Jimbo Gulle PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday ordered the Ombudsman to investigate mayors who received COVID-19 vaccines ahead of medical frontliners, even as he saw a “gray area” why the local chief executives, and even other government officials, took the jabs against the coronavirus despite a set priority list. The President noted that the mayors’ “universal excuse” was so their constituents would not fear taking the vaccine. He also revealed that he held a list of government officials who had already taken the jab. However, Duterte emphasized the importance of the vaccine priority list, as this is part of the conditions posted by the World Health Organization to receive more shots under the COVAX program. “For me that’s a bit of a gray area. What should come first (is) whether or not the jumping of COVID-19 line of vaccination would require a certain amount of a legal study,” he said in a televised address -- where he also announced the names of the mayors who received vaccines ahead of those in the government's priority list. They were Mayor Alfred Romualdez of Tacloban City; Mayor Dibu Tuan of T'boli town in South Cotabato; Mayor Sulpicio Villalobos of Sto. Niño, South Cotabato; Mayor Noel Rosal of Legazpi City, Albay; Mayor Abraham Ibba of Bataraza, Palawan; Mayor Elanito Peña of Minglanilla, Cebu; and Mayor Victoriano Torres of Alicia, Mayor Virgilio Next page


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