HEADS UP: Will ECQ in Metro Manila be Extended? (Aug. 17)

Here’s a Heads Up from reporter on news that you need to know today, Aug. 17:

POLITICS EXPLAINED

• Why is toxic name-calling a staple in Philippine election campaigns? Potential candidates have been called a call boy and punch drunk.

NEWS YOU CAN USE

• Wearable air purifiers, often available in necklace form, offer no protection against COVID-19 and are therefore not recommended, the DOH said.

2022 ELECTIONS

• A Citizen's Movement organized by members of Congress is urging Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio to run for president.

TRENDING NEWS

• Meet Ayn Bernos, a TikTok star who is proud to be 5’3” and going against much taller women for the Miss Universe 2021 crown.
• Afghanistan and the Taliban were trending yesterday after the rebels seized control of the capital, Kabul, forcing the nation’s president to flee and concede defeat after 20 years of war.

NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW

• Will the ECQ in Metro Manila be extended? The IATF will meet on Thursday to decide whether or not the lockdown will be eased or extended beyond Aug. 20.
• For the third straight day, the DOH tallied around 14,000 new infections.
• Manila Mayor Isko Moreno is in stable condition at the hospital, battling mild COVID.
• The DOH said it put on hold its plan to buy P700,000 worth of high-end laptops after COA flagged ‘deficiencies” in its handling of public funds.
• The Philippines’ first Lambda variant case has recovered and contact-tracing is underway.
• Health authorities are investigating the case of a 14-day-old baby who was found to have COVID-19 after he died at the hospital.
• Olympic silver medalist for boxing Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco got a Chooks to Go store as a prize for his feat at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
• Some 130 Filipinos in Afghanistan were told to evacuate after Taliban rebels stormed the capital, Kabul, sinking the Middle East country into uncertainty.