Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for New Year’s Day, January 1, 2021.
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte questioned the persistence of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to pursue the complaints against his administration in connection with his campaign against illegal drugs. He pointed out that the communication filed by lawyer Jude Sabio has been withdrawn, but the ICC has obstinately refused to let go of the case. Sabio, one of the “conspirators” of former senator Antonio Trillanes 4th, filed a case accusing Duterte of crimes against humanity in 2019. However, in January this year, he manifested before the court that he was withdrawing the communication that he filed, saying that the case was just part of political propaganda against Duterte. A report released by ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda in December 2020 stated that her office found basis that crimes against humanity were committed in the implementation of the Philippine government’s campaign against illegal drugs.
BRACING for a surge in Covid-19 cases after the holidays, the Department of Health (DoH) has alerted hospitals, especially those in Metro Manila, to increase their bed capacity for coronavirus patients. Health Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega, who manages the One Hospital Command Center (OHCC) as the Covid-19 Treatment Czar, said officials anticipated a post-holiday surge as early as August. He added that the Department of Budget and Management gave the DoH additional funds to increase the capacity of public health care facilities to prepare for a possible surge.
THE United States logged its highest ever daily death toll from the coronavirus Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) as the world prepared to turn the page on a grim year defined by the pandemic, with much of the globe united in one hope for 2021: that a slew of new vaccines will stamp out Covid-19. The US logged 3,900 deaths on Wednesday, with 19.7 million infections and 341,000 deaths.
If ever a year’s end seemed like cause for celebration, 2020 might be it. Yet the coronavirus scourge that dominated the year loomed over New Year’s festivities and forced officials worldwide to tone them down. From New York’s Times Square to Sydney Harbor, big public blowouts were turned into TV-only shows and digital events. Fireworks displays have been canceled from the Las Vegas Strip to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Even private parties in some places are restricted.
SENATE Minority Leader Franklin Drilon backed Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra’s move to investigate the reported unauthorized inoculation of members of the Presidential Security Group (PSG). Guevarra ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate the reported smuggling of China-made Sinopharm vaccine that was used to inoculate some members of the presidential guards.
SEN. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go said he would appeal to President Rodrigo Duterte to allow the government to augment the funds for the operation of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) so that the state insurer would no longer have to increase the monthly premium of its members in 2021.
In business, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has mopped up over a trillion pesos in the financial system through its liquidity facilities as of the third quarter of 2020. In its “Third Quarter 2020 Report on Economic and Financial Developments,” the central bank said the total outstanding amount absorbed in its liquidity facilities stood at P1.6 trillion.
Topping sports, the Miami Heat engineered a 58-point turnaround against the Milwaukee Bucks in 24 hours. Goran Dragic scored 26 points off the bench; Bam Adebayo finished with 22 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds; and the Heat beat the Bucks 119-108 on Wednesday night (Thursday in Manila) — one day after Milwaukee made an NBA-record 29 3-pointers on the way to a 47-point romp on Miami’s home floor.
Rigoberto Tiglao is the front page columnist for the Times this new year’s day. He analyzes what President Rodrigo Duterte did right and what US President Donald Trump did wrong in their handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Today’s Times editorial is hopeful that 2021 can be a year of resurgence and rediscovery of the Philippines’ global significance. Read the full version on the paper's Opinion Section or listen to the Voice of The Times.
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With Dafort Villaseran, this is Aric John Sy Cua reporting. May you have a safe and happy new year.