NATIONAL NEWS

Wala pa ring naitala ang Department of Health (DOH) na bagong nasawi sa bansa dahil sa COVID-19 sa nakalipas na tatlong araw.

Batay sa huling COVID-19 tally, nananatili sa 60, 455 ang COVID death toll sa bansa.

Nasa 149 ang panibagong nahawa sa virus dahilan para umakyat sa 2, 235 ang aktibong kaso.

3, 626, 591 naman ang kabuuang bilang nang gumaling dahil sa COVID-19.

Sa kabuuan, pumalo na sa 3, 689, 281 ang total COVID-19 cases sa bansa.

Incoming President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos, Jr. has proven that his call for unity extends beyond party lines as he reappoints an economist who once served under former president Benigno Aquino III.

In a press briefing on Monday afternoon, President-elect Marcos announced that he had asked former National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) chief Arsenio M. Balisacan, Ph.D., to return as the country’s chief economist.

“I have also tapped an old friend who’s also formerly in this position, Arse Balisacan, who is our former NEDA chief and I’ve asked him to return to NEDA,” Marcos said.

“I’ve worked with him extensively at the time when I was governor.  We have very similar thinking in that regard kaya’t malakas ang loob ko, I know he’s very competent, I know his policies are policies that will be for the betterment of our country,” Marcos added.

Incoming Executive Secretary Atty. Vic Rodriguez, who was with BBM during the press briefing, confirmed that Balisacan had accepted the appointment.

“The economic managers are going to be critical for the next several years because of the pandemic and the economic crisis.  So that is something that we are looking at very carefully,” Marcos said in a previous news conference.

The President-elect had previously said that competence and not a nominee’s political leanings would be the basis for his appointment of key officials.

“I continue to be guided by, as I said before, competence and willingness to work with the next administration.  In our discussions, we removed immediately what their political leanings have been.”

Balisacan will replace the current Secretary of Socioeconomic Planning and concurrent NEDA Director-General Karl Kendrick Chua, whom President Rodrigo Duterte appointed in 2021.

Balisacan, a well-respected economist, has served as NEDA chief from 2012 to 2016 during the term of Pnoy.

Before his cabinet appointment, Balisacan was the Dean of the UP School of Economics and Director-Chief Executive of the Southeast Asian Regional Centre for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA).

Balisacan currently chairs the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), a government body that aims to promote fair market competition, an inclusive economy, and advocate consumer welfare.

Ang 99.93 percent vote accuracy rate mula sa lumabas na random manual audit (RMA) ay ang patunay na nagdesisyon na ang mga Pilipino at ang kanilang kagustuhan ay dapat respetuhin, ayon sa kampo ni incoming President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos nitong Lunes.

Ayon kay incoming Executive Secretary Atty. Vic Rodriguez, ang random manual audit ng boto ay nagpapakita na ang mga digitally transmitted election results ay kahalintulad ng mga botong nakasulat sa mga balota.

“We welcome the results of the random manual audit of votes that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) reported out. We believe that the high accuracy rate proves that the recent elections were not marred by fraud as some sectors have been claiming. The RMA results should erase any doubt regarding the election results. The people have spoken and they have chosen presumptive President-elect Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos to be the country’s 17th president,” sabi ni Rodriguez.

Base sa random manual audit of votes nitong nagdaang 2022 elections, 99.93% ang overall accuracy matapos 128 sa 757 sa randomly selected clustered polling precincts ang nasuri na.

Dagdag pa ni Comelec Commissioner George Garcia ang ulat na 99.97% accuracy rate ay para sa presidential elections, habang 99.96% ang para sa vice-presidential race, at 99.97% naman sa senatorial at party-list polls.

Ang random manual audit ay pinangunahan ng Comelec, at mga poll watchdogs gaya ng LENTE, na asosasyon ng mga certified public accountants, at kasama din nila ang Philippine Statistics Authority.

Ito ay ginagawa upang suriin ang mga vote counting machines at masigurong tama ang pagkakabilang sa mga balota.

Muling nananawagan si Rodriguez sa mga sektor at grupo na nagbibigay ng pagdududa sa publiko kaugnay sa resulta ng halalan na tigilan na ang kanilang ginagawa at hayaang makapaglingkod ang susunod na administrasyon.

“I appeal to those who keep on pursuing this divisiveness, the people have spoken. The Filipino people have spoken and an overwhelming majority has voted President-elect Bongbong Marcos and Vice President-elect Inday Sara Duterte into office as President and Vice President. Learn to respect the will of the Filipino people,” sabi pa niya.