COVID-19 Updates: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte Press Briefing | September 14, 2020

As of September 14, 2020, 10:00 PM, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte addressed the nation through a recorded speech to provide updates on the COVID-19 situation. Below are the highlights of the briefing:

• PRRD started off his speech by reiterating the government’s commitment to combating the COVID-19 pandemic and reminded the public to not be complacent since the virus is still at large.
• Regarding updates on the vaccine, PRRD mentioned that trials will be started in December. If Russian and Chinese vaccines are equally good and effective like those from other countries, he would be joining the bidding alongside Russian and Chinese pharmaceutical companies.
  • He further shared that both Russia and China are not requiring any cash advance to secure their vaccines, unlike other countries that prioritize profit.
• Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III reported that as of September 14, 2020, there are 4,699 new cases.
  • Of the 4,090 fresh cases:
    • 1,102 are from the National Capital Region (NCR)
    • 830 are from Region IV-A
    • 486 are from Region III
    • 127 are from Region VI
    • 1,545 are from the remaining regions
  • Of the 609 late cases:
    • 396 are from NCR
    • 106 are from Region IV-A
    • 31 are from Region III
    • 22 are from Region IV-B
    • 54 are from the remaining regions
• Sec. Duque also reported that over 200 people have died from the disease and the country’s case fatality rate has increased to 1.7 percent. Total active cases are at 53,754 — 4,402 or 8.19 percent are asymptomatic and 47,526 or 89 percent are mild cases.
• Sec. Duque shared that confirmed cases among health workers have decreased from 23 percent in April to the current 3.1 percent.
• Average testing capacity of laboratories are at 36,922, with an average daily testing output of 30,000. Sec. Duque shared that the highest number of tests conducted in a day was recorded last September 11 with 42,258 tests.
• As of September 12, a total of 3,086,213 tests have been conducted, with 306,756 testing positive and a cumulative positivity rate of 10.6 percent.
• PRRD and Sec. Duque appealed to private hospitals to increase their hospital bed capacity for COVID-19 patients as confirmed cases still continue to rise.
• Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año reported on the status of cases under investigation following the anomalies from the distribution of financial aid of the Social Amelioration Program (SAP). In administrative cases, 357 cases are being investigated against 416 barangay officials and 93 of these cases have already been submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman.
  • Last week, 89 barangay captains were put on preventive suspension for six months.
  • 259 criminal cases have also been filed.
• Sec. Año thanked PRRD for signing the Bayanihan to Recover as One or Bayanihan 2 RA 11494. The DILG has been granted Php 5 billion to hire 50,000 more contact tracers to be deployed across all regions.
  • Currently, 9,600 tracers have been deployed in NCR, 5,992 in Region III, and 5,810 in CALABARZON.
  • Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) will be prioritized for the employment opportunity as they are displaced workers. They will be given proper training and will be deployed in areas where tracers are needed.
• Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana reported that as of September 13, 2020, 200,431 OFWs have been repatriated from across the globe.
  • According to Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III, they are expecting 80,000 more OFWs to arrive within the year.
  • The fifth batch of Filipinos returning from Sabah are expected to arrive on Monday. Upon arrival, 3,000 more are expected to be repatriated.
• PRRD mentioned that there are still a lot of OFWs who are not able to return home, especially seafarers who are stranded in their respective ships. He appealed to the Department of Foreign Affairs, commercial attache, and even the police to do a validation report if there are any stranded Filipinos in different countries.
• Presidential Adviser on Peace Process and National Task Force COVID-19 Chief Implementer Carlito Galvez, Jr. reported updates on Oplan Kalinga where they are conducting aggressive isolation of confirmed cases in dedicated facilities, especially those who are not capable of doing home quarantine.
  • Overall, 79 hotels and 7,114 beds have already been allocated to serve as isolation facilities.
  • He also thanked PRRD for the signing of Bayanihan 2 which granted them Php 4.5 billion to build and rent hotels to help house 128,000 potential positive cases, who will have to undergo 14-day quarantine. This will also help in providing dormitories for frontliners.
  • The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) under Secretary Mark Villar and Undersecretary Emil Sadain estimates to have 1,006 additional COVID-dedicated hospital beds by November 2020.
  • 250 dedicated beds and other medical equipment have already been turned over to East Avenue Medical Center. More beds are being constructed to be distributed to Rizal Medical Center, UP-Philippine General Hospital, and Batangas Medical Center.
• Sec. Galvez also shared that apart from COVID-19, they are also monitoring other causes of death among Filipinos including heart disease, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes. They are currently developing a strategy to improve treatment for renal patients.
  • He reiterated that while COVID-19 is a priority, they should also be prepared to handle non-COVID patients, and provide proper support especially when it comes to seeking treatment in hospitals.
  • He shared Mayor Sara Duterte’s strategy in Davao wherein there was a clear separation between COVID and non-COVID patients at the Southern Philippines Medical Center.
  • He advised PRRD on the importance of modernizing the country’s healthcare system and has appealed to Senator Bong Go to help push for the Senate’s support in modernizing the DOH as well.
• Sec. Duque briefly discussed the recommendation to reduce physical distancing from 1 meter to .75 at 50 percent ridership of public transport in Metro Manila, which raises concerns as it may significantly increase the number of confirmed cases. He will be discussing this with the Inter-Agency Task Force and provide a recommendation after.
  • Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said that what appears to the public is there are conflicting recommendations from the Transport and Health Departments.
  • PRRD understood the opposing recommendations and explained how minimum health standards can only do so much to protect individuals in different scenarios.
  • Sec. Galvez interjected that this is a matter of risk management such as proper ventilation for public transport to ensure that air circulates properly. He said that Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade conducted simulations with a corresponding mitigation process as well as proper guidelines for commuters.
  • Sec. Año also agreed on the risks imposed by the reduction of physical distancing as it may lead to a spike in cases again, and eventually stricter quarantine measures. He called for a more comprehensive study on this led by experts to provide proper recommendations.
  • PRRD requested to have a visual representation of the recommendations that will come out from the IATF meeting so he can better understand the implications of reducing physical distancing.
• PRRD shared that he received a report from Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Menardo Guevarra and the task force he commissioned to do the investigation on PhilHealth along with the Commission on Audit (COA) and the Office of the Ombudsman. He read the findings as indicated below:
  • The negligence of certain officers of the PhilHealth executive committee gives rise to both administrative and criminal liability and the following laws are the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices law, the malversation of public funds or property and the illegal use of public funds and property, gross misconduct, gross neglect of duty under Civil Service rules.
    • In addition, the same corporate officers may be held liable for certain violations of the National Internal Revenue Code in connection with their failure to withhold taxes on Interim Reimbursement Mechanism (IRM) releases.
  • While the board chairman and members exhibited negligence over the PhilHealth funds in several instances, their careless approval of Information and communications technology (ICT) equipments procurement, the ratification of the IRM, and the consent of the modification of judgment in court adjudicated cases is somehow mitigated by the active concealment of vital documents and information on the apparent misrepresentation by those who had sought the board’s approval.
  • The task force recommends that the President strongly admonish and remind the chairman and members of the board of the consequences of their actions with regards to the PhilHealth fund and the interest of the ordinary people who rely on PhilHealth assistance.
• The report stipulated that charges will be filed against the following PhilHealth officials:
  • PhilHealth Chief Executive Officer Ricardo Morales
  • Senior Vice President (SVP) Jovita Aragona
  • Officer in Charge Calixto Gabuya Jr.
  • SVP Renato Limsiaco Jr.
  • SVP Israel Pargas
  • Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Arnel de Jesus
  • Division Chief Bobby Crisostomo
• PRRD concluded the report by reiterating his stance against the corruption within PhilHeath.
• PRRD ended his speech by thanking everyone for listening to him.

DOH Advisory

As of September 14, 2020, 4:00 PM, the Department of Health (DOH) reported a total of 265,888 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 53,754 of which are active cases. Recoveries have been recorded to reach 207,504 while the local death toll has reached 4,630. Overall, the DOH also reported to have tested 2,921,142 individuals.

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