As of September 21, 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 congratulating Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Roy Cimatu for the transformation of Manila Bay.
- He also called out his critics for saying that the government is not doing enough, when there isn’t anything that can be done to address the pandemic.
- Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III reported that as of September 21, 2020, there are 3,475 new confirmed cases of COVID-19.
- 2,648 are fresh cases.
- 1,182 are from the National Capital Region (NCR)
- 503 are from the other regions
- 827 are late cases.
- 187 are from the other regions
- 15 more have died from the disease while the country’s fatality rate remains low at 1.7%.
- There have been 20,021 additional recoveries, increasing the country’s total to 230,233, while active cases are at 54,958.
- Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana reported updates on the current repatriation efforts of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).
- A total of 200,233 OFWs have already been repatriated and 80,000 are expected to come home according to Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III.
- 5,300 more Filipinos are expected to return from Sabah. They will be returning to Tawi-Tawi, Sulu, Basilan, Cotabato, and Zamboanga.
- Sec. Lorenzana also reported updates on visits that the National Task Force has done in General Santos City, Baguio, and Cordillera Provinces to monitor the progression of confirmed cases. Their next stop is Bataan for this coming week.
- Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año thanked PRRD for his decision to maintain the one-meter distancing measure for public utility vehicles and mass transport.
- Sec. Año shared a report from Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief General Camilo Cascolan, which indicated that from September 2019 to March 2020, a total of 31,661 crimes incidents were recorded. This figure has significantly decreased by 47% over the course of the lockdown, where only 16,879 crime incidents have been recorded.
- To maintain this figure, he recommended sustaining the visibility and presence of police patrols, coordination with local government units (LGUs), and faster reaction time. Compared to other countries, no looting incidents have been recorded locally since the lockdown was put in place.
- Robbery cases have decreased by 61%.
- Carnapping of motorcycles and vehicles have decreased by 66% and 61% respectively.
- Murder cases have gone down by 22%.
- While there have been reports of increased rape cases, they’ve recorded that these cases have decreased by 24%.
- For the upcoming celebration of Undas or All Souls’ Day, Sec. Año mentioned that the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) has provided a resolution based on the requests made by city mayors.
- The public is allowed to visit cemeteries from today until November 15, except for the identified dates. Visitors must observe 30% capacity of all cemeteries where marshals and health officers will also be deployed.
- On the ongoing investigation on PhilHealth and its officials, PRRD wanted it to expedite the process and commended the Office of the Ombudsman for seeking help from other agencies for this case.
- PRRD drove the conversation back to the rehabilitation of Manila Bay, sharing that he is impressed by Sec. Cimatu’s efforts, especially with the integration of white sand. PRRD thanked him as many people are now able to visit and enjoy Manila Bay.
- PRRD called out his critics for claiming that the government is failing when they have done their best to respond to the medical needs of the people during the pandemic.
- He insisted that the country is surviving and is only waiting for a vaccine to be available, but until then, they couldn’t do anything about the pandemic.
- For those who continue to violate the guidelines and protocols of the government, PRRD tasked the police force to handle them.
- Presidential Adviser on Peace Process and National Task Force COVID-19 Chief Implementer Carlito Galvez, Jr. commended Sec. Duque’s report, and said that Metro Manila LGUs have localized their pandemic response strategy.
- Testing capacity in Metro Manila has already reached 320,000.
- Mega quarantine facilities will be opened up in Taguig while building of facilities will soon begin at Nayong Pilipino.
- Sec. Galvez reported that there are currently 25,767 contact tracing teams and 227,648 contact tracers. These figures are expected to increase with the completion of training programs headed by Sec. Año and Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong.
- Close contact ratio has improved to 1:5 from the previous 1:3, and they are targeting to further increase this to 1:10 to 1:20.
- Sec. Galvez shared that it also helped that they are aggressive in testing in areas where home quarantine is not effectively implemented.
- On Oplan Kalinga which is headed by Testing Czar Secretary Vince Dizon, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Danilo Lim, MMDA General Manager Jojo Garcia, and MMDA Chief of Staff Mike Salalima, Sec. Galvez shared that more than 18,423 mega quarantine facilities and hotels were able to house and isolate 7,007 patients.
- Total isolated in NCR, Region III, and Region IV-A is 25,430, which prevented the tripling of cases had they not been put in quarantine facilities.
- He explained that aggressive isolation efforts have contributed to decreasing the number of active cases by more than 36,215 since August 14, when transmission and casualties were at its highest.
- PRRD made a short statement to the nation and shared his own updates.
- After the passage of Bayanihan II, he issued Proclamation 1021, extending the state of calamity throughout the Philippines due to COVID-19 until September 12, 2021. He explained that this was to give time for the government and LGUs to secure resources in fighting the pandemic. He also requested the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the police force to extend all necessary assistance needed to fulfill this mandate.
- He lifted the ban on the deployment of Filipino health workers with existing contracts abroad to help them secure better income for their respective families.
- PRRD reiterated that the government is doing its best to combat the pandemic and urged the public to continue wearing masks and face shields.
- He asked the public not to listen to the Opposition, particularly Vice President Leni Robredo. He also appealed to his critics to stop making reckless statements about the government’s efforts because they are doing their best to address the situation, and that what they are doing is enough.
- He also equated that the only response to COVID-19 is a vaccine.
- He then proceeded to discuss the priorities for the distribution of the vaccine, putting first those in the marginalized sector. He also warned drug users as well as the New People’s Army and how the vaccine will not be made available to them.
- PRRD concluded his speech by thanking the public for listening.
DOH Advisory
As of September 21, 2020, 4:00 PM, the Department of Health (DOH) reported a total of 290,190 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 54,958 of which are active cases. Recoveries have been recorded to reach 230,233 while the local death toll has reached 4,999. Overall, the DOH also reported to have tested 3,191,229 individuals.
***
For consultations, you may reach the DOH via hotline: (02) 894 – COVID (26843) or 1555 (for PLDT, Smart, Sun, and TNT subscriber)
For announcements and public advisories, you may visit the following official DOH channels:
Website: https://www.doh.gov.ph/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialDOHgov/
Twitter:https://twitter.com/DOHgovph