Human rights advocates believe that numbers will still increase and the full force of Covid-19 is yet to be felt. They also call for transparency in releasing death and infection rates to help craft policies and mitigate the spread of false information.
“The NASUWT International Solidarity Award honors those who uphold our shared, universal trade union values of solidarity, equality and democracy,” the announcement reads.
According to the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, a total of 1,867 Filipinos worldwide have contracted COVID-19 as of Tuesday. There were 214 deaths and 513 recoveries so far globally.
An 18-month-old baby boy, who was born premature, became the youngest Filipino coronavirus (COVID-19) survivor in the UAE, the Philippines Embassy in Abu Dhabi announced on Tuesday.
Sison said it is convenient for Duterte to scapegoat and attack the NPA to deflect attention to the government’s failures on containing the virus and to deliver food and cash assistance, mass testing and medical treatment to the people. “At the same time, he has used Covid-19 as the reason for grabbing emergency powers, the immediate amount of more than 375 billion pesos and the license to realign the 2020 budget,” Sison said.
Filipinos in the UAE used social media over the weekend to join their kababayans (compatriots) worldwide in expressing strong opposition to the latest circular. They said it was not only a huge burden for them but the move was also insensitive to their plight in the time of COVID-19 pandemic.
In a letter dated April 27, 74 organizations called on Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, People’s Republic of China President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Myanmar State Counsellor Aung Sun Suu Kyi, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, and Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong to release imprisoned journalists in response to calls from various quarters to decongest and prevent coronavirus contagion in jails.
“The refusal of the Duterte regime to relent in its attacks against the NPA (New People’s Army), despite calls for a ‘global ceasefire’ has made the further extension of the NPA ceasefire impossible,” the CPP said in a statement.
The person brutally murdered by four burly men in early this morning was one of Iloilo City’s most visible personalities during times of disaster and calamities, often seen organizing and coordinating relief missions. And giving relief to those most affected by the coronavirus lockdown was one of the last public things he did before assassins brutally snuffed out his life.
Distressed OFW Marvin Andigos accused Philippine Consul General to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Edgardo Badajos of shouting invectives at him after the diplomat’s driver and another employee slapped him. Badajos said “hurtful words may have been exchanged but the physical violence was accidental.
