Senate

Senator Risa Hontiveros | PHOTO: Joseph Vidal/Senate PRIB MANILA, Philippines — For the second time, Senator Risa Hontiveros was placed in quarantine after exposure to a COVID-19-positive individual. And this, Hontiveros said, was why she could not attend the commemoration of former president Benigno “Noynoy” S. Aquino III’s first death anniversary at the Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City on Friday. “Na-expose ako sa isang tao a couple of days ago na nag-test positive siya kahapon, although wala siyang symptoms, kailangan kong mag-quarantine,” the senator said in an interview on Teleradyo also on Friday. (I was exposed to an individual a couple of days ago who tested positive yesterday, although they did not show symptoms, I need to go under quarantine.) READ: If ex-Pres. Noynoy Aquino were alive, talk wouldn’t be about the heart but about country, says priest Hontiveros said she has not taken a COVID-19 test yet and is observing if symptoms would show up. … [Read more...] about Hontiveros in quarantine after exposure to COVID-19 positive individual

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, letting states outlaw abortion, but while a review of national polls shows many Americans consistently split between identifying between the partisan labels “pro-choice” or “pro-life,” a clear majority supports keeping the procedure legal—though that support drops quickly depending on the circumstance. Key Facts Broad support for abortion rights : Gallup polls show Americans’ support for abortion in all or most cases at 80% in May 2021, only sightly higher than in 1975 (76%), and the Pew Research Center finds 59% of adults believe abortion should be legal, compared to 60% in 1995—though there has been fluctuation, with support dropping to a low of 47% in 2009. The share of Americans in Gallup’s poll who say abortion is morally acceptable reached a record high of 47% in May, up from a low of 36% in 2009, and a Quinnipiac poll found support for abortion … [Read more...] about How Americans Really Feel About Abortion: The Sometimes Surprising Poll Results As Supreme Court Overturns Roe V. Wade

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline Federal law enforcement agents on Wednesday searched the home of Trump-era Department of Justice lawyer Jeffrey Clark, whose push to pursue shaky voter fraud allegations following the 2020 election caused uproar at the DOJ—and drew intense scrutiny from the House January 6 committee Thursday. Key Facts Clark confirmed the search in a Thursday night interview with Tucker Carlson, telling the Fox News host about a dozen federal agents visited his home at 7 a.m. Wednesday and spent over three hours searching his house and removing electronics. It’s not clear why federal agencies searched Clark’s suburban Virginia home, but unnamed sources told the New York Times the search was tied to the DOJ’s probe into attempts to reverse former President Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss. William Miller, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s office in D.C., told Forbes “there was law enforcement activity” … [Read more...] about Feds Search Trump DOJ Official Jeffrey Clark’s Home

The first Congressional action on gun control in nearly three decades is headed to President Joe Biden’s desk. With the support of all Democrats and 14 Republicans, the House on Friday passed the bipartisan bill 234-193, which is designed to make it more difficult for people to acquire firearms, advertisement Written in response to shootings in Buffalo , New York, and Uvalde , Texas , the bill passed the House less than a day after clearing the Senate Thursday night with a vote of 65-33. The legislation will require more stringent background checks on gun buyers under the age of 21 and allow authorities to look at juvenile police and mental health records from the age of 16. It also contributes federal funding to strengthen mental health programs across the country and security in schools. Further funding was provided to implement “red flag” laws that let officials temporarily confiscate guns from people that a court deems too dangerous to … [Read more...] about First bipartisan gun legislation in nearly 30 years to become law

Juvic Pagunsan (photo above): One-shot shy of course record —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Juvic Pagunsan lit up the Masters course on Friday, gunning down an eagle and seven birdies on the way to an eight-under-par 64 and a four-stroke lead in individual play after the first round of the Manila Southwoods Pro-Am in Carmona, Cavite. The enigmatic Japan Tour mainstay missed matching the course record set twice during the defunct Resorts World Manila Masters of the Asian Tour after he dropped his only shot on the par-3 fifth hole. His sterling play led his team made up of Senate President Tito Sotto, his brother Maru and Bing Lapus to the low gross lead with a 61. Jonel Ababa, the many-time winner on the Philippine Golf Tour, returned as 68 to be tied with Albin Engino with the trio of Fidel Concepcion, Justin Quiban and Dino Villanueva trailing another shot back. Pagunsan’s eagle came on the layout’s signature hole, the par-4 9th where he holed a wedge from 80 yards, which boosted his team … [Read more...] about Juvic sizzles with 64 for four-shot lead at Southwoods

Philippines’ 15th President, Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III | INQ FILE PHOTO “A simple, honest, self-effacing and decent Filipino who gave his all without fanfare when he was tasked to serve his bosses.” That was how Maria Elena “Ballsy” Aquino-Cruz remembered his brother, Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, as family and friends marked the first death anniversary of the country’s 15th President on Friday with a Mass at his alma mater, the Ateneo de Manila University. Besides three of Aquino’s four sisters (Cruz, Aurora Corazon “Pinky” Abellada and Victoria Elisa “Viel” Dee), in attendance were Vice President Leni Robredo, Senators Francis Pangilinan and Franklin Drilon, former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, former presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda and his former deputy Abigail Valte, and former Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. 2014 Sona Kristina Bernadette “Kris” Aquino, the youngest of the Aquino brood, could not make it as she was in the United States for medical … [Read more...] about P-Noy remembered: Self-effacing President made a difference

Vice President-elect Sara Duterte | REUTERS/Lisa Marie David One of the big problems that Vice President-elect Sara Duterte will have to tackle as the incoming education secretary is the worsening learning poverty among children, who at age 10 still can’t read simple texts and who continue to reel from the impact of school closures and the decline in the quality of education caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to “The State of Global Learning Poverty: 2022 Update” report released on June 23, “learning poverty has increased by a third in low- and middle-income countries, with an estimated 70 percent of 10-year-olds unable to understand a simple written text.” The report was jointly published by the World Bank (WB), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the UN Children’s Fund, the UK government’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, the US Agency for International Development and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Potential losses … [Read more...] about Sara Duterte’s assignment: Woeful WB findings on PH pupils

FILE PHOTO The number of people found positive for COVID-19 out of all those tested in Metro Manila and five provinces has risen above the 5-percent World Health Organization (WHO) benchmark that indicates containment of the coronavirus in a given location, but the Department of Health (DOH) was not alarmed. Data from the independent pandemic monitor OCTA Research on Friday showed that the positivity rate, the proportion of the people tested who came out positive, jumped from 3.0 percent on June 18 to 5.6 percent on June 22 in the National Capital Region (NCR). The WHO considers an area has contained infections when it has kept the positivity rate to 5 percent or less for 14 days. OCTA also recorded positivity rates above 5 percent in the provinces of Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal and Iloilo. Of the five, Batangas made the highest jump—from just 1.2 percent on June 18 to 5.3 percent on June 22. It was followed by Cavite (3.6 percent to 5.7 percent during the same period), … [Read more...] about COVID-19 positivity rate up in Metro Manila, 5 provinces

The abortion debate has become a major focus in the midterms after a leaked draft decision from the Supreme Court indicated Roe v. Wade will be overturned. “[Democrats are] gonna use every single dirty trick in the book, so I do think that we should be a little more on the offensive,” Carson Steelman, press secretary for Heritage Action, told The Daily Caller News Foundation. Multiple Republicans in battleground states have emphasized that little will change in their state if Roe was thrown out, while Democrats have argued the opposite. Both Republicans and Democrats have been forced to reconfigure their election strategies only six months before the midterms due to the unprecedented leak from the Supreme Court indicating Roe v. Wade will be overturned. Many Democrats have made clear they intend to hammer opponents across the aisle on the implications of Roe being overturned and while Republicans have celebrated the decision, several have largely focused on the leak … [Read more...] about Roe V. Wade Has Completely Transformed The Midterms – Here’s How

Republicans in Congress praised the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization on Friday, which overturned Roe v. Wade’s holding that Americans have a constitutional right to an abortion. Associate Justice Samuel Alito wrote for a six-justice majority that “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start.” Associate Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch joined Alito’s majority opinion, while Associate Justices Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh and Chief Justice John Roberts issued concurring opinions. Alito’s final opinion was similar to a leaked draft opinion showing that the justices would overrule Roe. Republicans praised the ruling while denouncing a pressure campaign against the justices stemming from the leaked draft opinion. (RELATED: REPORT: Justice Roberts ‘Likely’ To Order FBI Investigation Into SCOTUS Leak) “ Every unborn child is precious, extraordinary, and worthy of protection. I applaud this historic ruling, which will … [Read more...] about ‘Save Countless Innocent Lives’: Republicans Cheer End Of Roe V. Wade