COVID-19 and Typhoon Rolly Updates: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte Press Briefing | November 10, 2020

November 11, 2020

As of November 10, 2020, 10:00 PM, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte addressed the nation through a recorded speech to provide updates on the COVID-19 situation and the impact of Typhoon Rolly. Below are the highlights of the briefing:

• Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III reported that they are ready to release cash assistance amounting to Php 13 billion, which includes Php 3 billion for the tourism sector, Php 300 million for non-teaching instructors, and Php 1 billion for the children of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). Payouts have already been released for Catanduanes.
• Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Carlos Dominguez III reported on the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) numbers. He first shared that the local economy is strong enough to recover once the government enables it to do so and that the best recourse  is to manage the potential risks rather than avoiding them.
  • Sec. Dominguez shared how the revert of community quarantine classifications in different cities allowed them to expand their capacity to handle the contagion. From zero capacity in February, daily testing reached 111,600 on November 4 with 160 labs providing RT-PCR testing while daily testing reached a peak of 46,597 on September 11.
  • There are currently 253,442 trained contact tracers deployed across the country as of November 6.
  • He shared that as they conducted more testing and vigilant contact tracing, more cases were found and he also noted that 94 percent of which are asymptomatic or mild cases. He added that potential spread was prevented as more isolation facilities were made available.
  • They also boosted their capacity to treat those requiring hospitalization, with 21,909 hospital beds across the country dedicated to COVID-19 patients as of November 4 and only around 39 percent is occupied.
• Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade reported on the efforts done by his department to address the ongoing pandemic. This included:
  • Free shuttle services to health workers. 1,000,800 health workers have been serviced as of November 7.
  • Hatid Tulong program where 288, 593 Filipinos have been transported to their respective provinces by land, air and sea.
  • One-Stop Shop operation where 466,542 returning OFWs were provided transportation assistance from various airport terminals in Manila, Clark, and Cebu.
  • Crew Change Hubs where ports were opened in Manila, Bataan, Subic, and Cebu, and in the next few weeks, Davao and Batangas. 875 ships were able to disembark with 14,000 seafarers. Sec. Tugade shared that this initiative was in line with PRRD’s vision of making the Philippines the capital of crew change hubs in the world.
  • Establishment of COVID-19 testing labs and quarantine facilities in Mactan-Cebu Airport where daily testing capacity is at 1,500 to 3,000.
  • PPA Molecular Lab in Clark Airport where daily testing capacity is at 2,000.
  • Transformation of the Eva Macapagal Super Terminal in Manila South Harbor into a quarantine facility and recent inauguration of a 124-bed quarantine facility dedicated for seafarers in Bataan.
  • Quarantine facilities for the Philippine Coast Guard.
• Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez reported on the slow opening of the economy which allowed Filipinos to resume work in different sectors.
  • With the institution of extra health protocols, an additional 400,000 employment was allowed to resume work for barbershops, salons, and restaurants. As more industries are allowed to open and increase capacity, more Filipinos will be able to work again.
  • The last sectors that were allowed to open were the ones that are not too essential such as testing and review centers, gyms and fitness centers, internet cafes, dermatological clinics, other personal care services, pet grooming, and others.
• Sec. Lopez reminded that while more industries open, people must follow minimum health standards including:
  • Wearing of face masks / face shield
  • No talking and no eating especially in public places and public transport
  • Allowing more ventilation
  • Keeping physical distance
  • Frequent disinfection
  • Not allowing symptomatics to render work or service
  • Isolating the confirmed cases
• Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rolando Bautista reported on the effects of the typhoons, particularly Typhoon Rolly and his department’s efforts during the pandemic alongside implementation of Bayanihan 2.
• Sec. Bautista reported that Typhoon Rolly affected 5,360 barangays, with more than 500,000 families and around 2 million individuals.
  • There are 9,878 affected families with more than 39,000 affected individuals inside the evacuation centers.
  • 11,022 affected families with 44,954 affected individuals are outside of the evacuation centers and are staying with their relatives and friends.
  • There are more than 33,000 totally damaged houses and more than 128,000 are partially damaged.
  • DSWD initially provided assistance to all the affected regions amounting to more than Php 52.4 million. Actions taken by the Department included transportation of food and non-food items using air and naval assets of the Philippine Air Force, Philippine Navy, and Philippine Coast Guard.
  • An initial of 59,420 family food packs, more than 4,000 bottles of water and assorted non-food items were provided to the beneficiaries.
  • DSWD currently has standby funds/Quick Reaction Funds amounting to Php 226.1 million, wherein Php 184.7 million is available at the Central Office while the rest is distributed to the different field offices.
• Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Menardo Guevarra reported that they are continuously investigating and prosecuting all violations of health and quarantine protocols as well as ensuring the Bureau of Immigration implements the guidelines of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF).
• PRRD shared that the COVID-19 vaccine is already being sold and Sec. Dominguez can borrow USD 300 million to make the purchase for the country. Regardless if it’s China or Pfizer from the US, he reiterated that there is already a vaccine and as promised, the government will be spending it for the Filipino people.
• When it comes to the distribution, PRRD said that the priority will be those in Class E followed by Class D. Those in Class C, he believes that they can already purchase the vaccine themselves, while those in Classes A and B already have more than enough financial capacity to avail of their own vaccines.
• PRRD shared that it’s not that they do not prefer purchasing from the US, but the Federal Government has already made the purchase for the first installment of the vaccine, which will be used by their fellow Americans. He added that the case is similar for European countries and China (Sinovac and Sinopharm).
• PRRD reminded the public of the respective population of these countries, which would mean that they would prioritize their own over those in outside their jurisdictions. He segued that there is no problem with the Philippines’ budget for vaccines, but on the supply itself.
• On corruption, PRRD will continue investigations to expose officials to the public. Based on the DOJ’s investigation, the following people were identified:
  • Perry Michael Pancho, Marcos Nicodemus, Darren Ilagan – Preventively suspended pending investigation of formal charges against them for grave misconduct, neglect of duty or conduct prejudicial to the best interest in the service in connection with the falsification of travel records of a former Wirecard Executive.
  • Neil Tristan Estomo, Mikara Kaye Cortez, Christopher Lee, Rolan Lim – preventively suspended pending investigation of formal charges against them for grave misconduct, serious dishonesty, gross neglect of duty, and/or conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service in connection with the “pastillas” scheme.
  • Wilfredo Agustino, Rudy Canastillo, Edward Canastillo, Cecil Caligan – dismissed by the Ombudsman for grave misconduct.
  • Lea V. Negre – dismissed by the Ombudsman for misconduct in relation to the acquisition of excessively priced lamp posts.
  • Leonardo Paulican, Elmer Calo, Pedro Mercado, Agathonico Galarrita, Doroteo  A. Laguna, Harold Caermare – dismissed by the Ombudsman for indirect bribery and in violation of Section 3 (e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and Section 7 (d) of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards and the Government Procurement Reform Act.
• PRRD also enumerated employees dismissed from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
  • Rolando Asis, Edilberto Tayao, Berna Coca, Luzvisminda Narciso, Danilo Peroy – dismissed by the Ombudsman for misconduct.
  • Rey Alcantara of the Local Water Utilities Administration – dismissed by the Ombudsman for dishonesty, grave misconduct, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.
  • Elmer Redrico – dismissed by the Ombudsman for grave misconduct, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of service.
  • Noel Pineda, Edward Del Rosario Sevilla, Alberto Cainghog – dismissed by the Ombudsman for gross misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the service.
  • Eufronia Cabaysa, Helen Asinas, Wilson Tagbo – suspended by the Ombudsman for one year without pay for misconduct.
  • Rex Oyaoy – suspended for six months without pay for misconduct and insubordination.
  • Enrico Guilas – suspended by the Ombudsman for two months and one day.
  • Roberto Canezal, Sanny Boy Oropel – suspended by the Ombudsman for one month.
  • Philip Menez, Edna Menez, Arnaldo Bonifacio, Virgilio Eduarte, Serafin Lago, Roberto Atienza – suspended by the Ombudsman.
  • Joselito Altiveros – suspended by the DPWH for six months for misconduct.
  • PRRD also reminded that these suspended officials will be dismissed next time.
• PRRD used the last portion of his speech to advise the public and officials of government agencies to not be involved in these illegal acts and be cooperative by informing the right officials should they see such acts happen. As a prize for their reporting, PRRD said they will be granted Php 50,000 – Php 100,000 and their identities will be kept confidential.

DOH Advisory

As of November 10, 2020, 4:00 PM, the Department of Health (DOH) reported a total of 399,749 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 1,347 of which are new cases, bringing the number of active cases to 30,169. There are 187 people who recovered from the disease, increasing the total number of recoveries to 361,919. However, 14 more died, increasing the local death toll to 7,661.

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