Manila Standard - 2021 September 1 - Wednesday

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FRONTLINERS SET ‘NATIONAL DAY OF PROTEST’ TO DRAMATIZE PLIGHT By Macon Ramos-Araneta AS THE deadline it set with the Department of Health to give them their benefits and hazard pay while serving during the COVID-19 pandemic lapsed yesterday, the Alliance of Health Workers invited all medical frontliners to join their nationwide protest actions today, the group’s president Robert MenMen doza said.

“Thus, we invite our fellow health workers to join the national day of protest set tomorrow, September 1, to register our anger and frustrations and hold (Health) Secretary (Francisco) Duque and (the) Duterte government accountable for abandoning their duty and responsibility to ensure the health workers’ Next page

VOL. XXXV • NO. 198 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2021 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Duterte admits to telling DOH to skip bidding By Vito Barcelo and Macon Ramos-Araneta

WALKOUT. Health workers from the Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital in Sta. Cruz Manila walk out of their hospital premises to call for the immediate release of the hazard payment and other benefits during a walkout protest on Tuesday, August 31, 2021. A huge simultaneous protest will be set on Wednesday, September 1 in different regions to compel the Health authorities to give them their overdue benefits as they demand the ouster of DOH SecretaryFrancisco Duque III. Danny Pata

30K cases/day feared

WHO cites Delta community transmission; 4m by yearend By Macon Ramos-Araneta

T

HE Philippines might tally up to 30,000 daily fresh coronavirus cases until the end of September and infections may peak in early October, according to a member of the state university’s pandemic response team. This developed as A World Health Organization (WHO) official on Tuesday said the Philippines is already ex-

Duterte

periencing the community transmission of the highly contagious Delta variant of COVID-19.

Lacson

“What we are seeing in the Philippines is not unique,” said WHO country representative Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe. “It is being seen in other countries.” “Our projections show that our cumulative cases might reach more than 3 million, even 4 million before 2021 ends,” Professor Jomar Rabajante of the UP Pandemic Response Team told TeleRadyo. “We have to factor in that this is the Delta variant... We are seeing that cases would

still continue to come in until September and then it will decline,” he added. President Rodrigo Duterte, meanwhile, signaled a shift from city-wide or province-wide quarantines to localized lockdowns. “Whether the rise in the number of cases is due to the Delta variant or not, we need to recalibrate our response,” Duterte said in his prerecorded Talk to the Next page

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has admitted he ordered Health Secretary Francisco Duque III to skip the bidding process in buying medical equipment during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, he vowed to “extract him” or any other Cabinet member in case the lawmakers would exercise their power to detain resource persons who would refuse to answer questions during Senate hearings. “I was the one who ordered Duque. When we were here, I told him I wanted it done immediately. I told him it should only take one or two days. I was the one who told him I am sure there is a law which would exempt you from bidding. Next page

1,989,857 13,827

145,562

33,448

118

1,810,847 16,759 (As of 4 PM, AUGUST 30)

Gordon

Rody goes ballistic, blasts Ping, Dick over Senate probe By Vito Barcelo and Macon Ramos-Araneta PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday took personal potshots at senators leading a congressional probe into alle-

gations that his government purchased overpriced pandemic supplies in 2020. But Senators Richard Gordon, whom he ridiculed as being overweight, and Panfilo Lacson, whom he suggested was “different” because of the way he

combed his hair, quickly fired back. Lacson said he hasn’t changed the way he combs his hair since long before “the President lost his mind,” while Gordon said he would surely win over Duterte when it Next page

Du30 dares agency to draw up list of erring rank and file PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has challenged the Commission on Audit (COA) to publish criminal cases filed against state auditors, stressing that many of them have been accused of bribery and falsification of documents. “You know, a lot of state auditors are facing complaints. Most of them are bribery and falsification—helping government officials and teaching them how to evade audits. So not everybody here is really without sin,” he said in a prerecorded Talk to the People aired Tuesday. Duterte said since there is a law that prevents the Office of the Ombudsman from releasing these documents, the COA should voluntarily publicize them instead. “You on your own, why don’t you publish the number of criminal cases filed against employees of the auditing office involving corruption also? It is much Next page

CLOSING TIME. A medical worker prepares to zip up a tent in what is seen as a dark

foreboding of the Ospital ng Sampaloc. In an advisory on its Facebook account, the Ospital ng Sampaloc said that it could no longer accommodate COVID-19 patients having reached full capacity due to the surge of infections that have exacted its toll on the institution. Norman Cruz

PhilHealth takes too long to act; Gierran wants to be ‘very careful’ JAB ASSIGNMENTS. Vaccinators wait for their patients to come to a jab center in Holy Trinity Academy in Manila on Tuesday, August 31, 2021. Starting Wednesday, September 1, vaccinations in Manila for the first timers will be done only in the health centers while the second dose will be done in vaccination centers. Walk-ins who are non-Manila residents will be inoculated at the malls. Danny Pata

THE state-owned Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) is supposedly taking “too long” to pay hospital claims because president and CEO Dante Gierran wanted to be “careful” to avoid more issues from hounding the state insurer. President Rodrigo Duterte made this statement amid criticism over PhilHealth’s pace in processing unpaid claims, which resulted in the closure of some hospitals and affected most hospitals’ manpower amid

the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, Senator Christopher Go told Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chairman Richard Gordon to inhibit himself from inquiries involving PhilHealth due to “conflict of interest.” In a privilege speech, Go raised Gordon’s affiliation with the Philippine Red Cross, and mentioned the multi-million memorandum of agreement that the PRC Next page


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