NATIONAL NEWS
July 14-20, 2022
10
New US envoy to Philippines arriving end of July B y Jean n e M i c h ael Pen ar an d a
WASHINGTON/MANILA – Finally, the new United States Ambassador to the Philippines MaryK ay Carlson will take up her post in Manila before the end of July as the US looks forward to bolstering its economic, security and political cooperation with its long-time treaty ally under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. administration. This was disclosed by US Embassy harg d ffaires eather aria a said on the sidelines of a reception for the 246t h anniversary of US Independence. “We are very exc ited to welcome very soon our new ambassador. She’ll be here in the Philippines by the end of the month,” Variava said. Variava said Carlson, a senior career diplomat, is in Washington DC to prepare
for her tour of duty. “She’s now in Washington having meetings, preparing to come here to the Philippines. Stay tuned, there’s a lot more to come with the new ambassador,” she added. Carlson succeeds former US ambassador to the Philippines Sung K im, who ended his tour of duty in October 2020. For more than a year, the embassy was headed b a charg d affaires until arlson was finall nominated and confirmed this year. ormer charg d affaires ohn aw led the embassy before Variava, who will serve as Carlson’s deputy once she arrives in Manila. Variava said there is “a lot to look forward to” in the two nations’ partnership, particularly on security and its Indo-Pacific conomic ramewor
Covid...
“We here at the embassy, as well as our partners in the United States, look forward to working closely with President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. and his team to secure a prosperous, healthy, and safe future for the peoples of both our nations,” she said. “We wish the new President good health and a safe recovery,” she added after Malacanang’s announcement that Marcos had tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019. President Joe B iden designated Carlson as the next US ambassador to the Philippines. A veteran diplomat, Carlson was Dep- U S A mb as s ad o r -D es i gn at e t o t h e Ph i li p uty Chief of Mission at the US Embassy p i n es M ar yK ay L o s s C ar ls o n in B uenos Aires, Argentina prior to her years and as principal Deputy Exe cuappointment in Manila. She also served as Deputy Chief of tive Secretary of the Secretary of State in Mission in New Delhi, India for three Washington, D.C. (From page 1) increases for stay,” and new infections should always be ex pected.
both tell an On the plus side, she said that at least “our hospitals u n n e r v i n g are not full.” story, with the number of COVID-19 cases rising 3 9 As of the start of this week, the total number of acpercent for the period July 4 to10. ti e infections stood at ince - first Y ear-on-year, however, it is the number of dengue appeared, the country ex perienced 3 ,7 18 , 4 67 cases cases for the first half of this ear that is a more serious nationwide, with 3 ,664 ,009 recoveries and 60,64 0 faconcern, zooming by 90 percent over the same period talities. last year. ccording to the independent firm esearch The twin threats could swamp the government’s the Philippines currently has a COVID-19 positivhealthcare system, with the Department of Health still ity rate of 10.9 percent, more than double the World operating without a leader. Various undersecretaries ealth rgani ation s safe rate of fi e percent from the previous government are still on place on a The positivity rate is the percentage of people who holdover capacity, with no guarantee that they will be test positive for the virus against the total number who retained once a new Health secretary is appointed by have been tested. the president. As long as the positivity rate keeps increasing, the Meanwhile, the public was advised not to panic, but number of COVID-positive individuals is also rising. to also be cautious. Health undersecretary Maria RoAnd while COVID only appeared in the country in sario Vergeire noted at the start of this week that the March of 2020, dengue cases have been recorded for average new daily infections of COVID-19 has risen to decades, with the annual total rising and falling with 1,5 3 5 cases, a dramatic rise from the previous week’s no set pattern. 1,009 cases. he first semester of this ear showed that is The resurgence of COVID-19 is ex pected to contin- a high volume year for dengue fever, believed to have ue in the short term, with a peak seen to occur between first emanated from the hilippines decades ago the middle and the end of July. The Health department said there were 64 ,7 97 denThe new surge is ex pected to peak at up to 11,000 gue cases recorded from January 1 to June 25 , this cases a day, with public and private hospitals seen to year, almost double the 3 4 ,07 4 cases reported for the ex perience shortages in bed space by end-August to same period last year. September. he death toll for the first half of this ear stood at Speaking in the vernacular, Vergiere said in a radio 27 4 . interview that “we really should be careful.” For both COVID-19 and dengue, therefore the She added that the pub- short-term situation in the Philippines is bound to get lic must understand that worse before it gets better, and it is not clear if the new the coronavirus “is here to government is giving it the attention it needs.
Senators refiling death penalty bill senator has re-filed his bill see ing to impose the death penalt on big-time drug tra c ers and plunderers while at least three others said the would file their ersions Senator Ronald dela Rosa, a former chief of the Philippine National Police, limited his ersion onl to high-le el drug tra c ers so it would not be considered anti-poor Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Robin Padilla have similarly expr essed their commitment to support the reinstatement of the death penalty. enator hristopher ong o e pressed his willingness to re-file a measure reinstating the death penalty for certain heinous crimes. here s no high-le el drug tra c er who can be considered as small-time indi po kasama dito ‘ yung mga ( Not included here are the) ordinary street drug pushers. nl big-time drug tra c ers dela osa said Although he expe cts a discussion on the quantity of illegal drugs that may be considered high-le el he said one ilogram could alread be classified as such n the th ongress none of the death penalt bills filed b nine senators were acted upon after being referred to the Committee on Justice and Human Rights, chaired by former senator Richard Gordon.
