By Argyll Cyrus Geducos

Malacañang assured the public that the government is ready for any situation after President Duterte declared a State of Public Health Emergency due to the confirmation of local transmission of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19).

In a radio interview, Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said the government is ready to respond to the needs of the public and health workers, and even additional funding to address the disease.

“Naka-ready na naman tayo for whatever eventuality na mangyari. Ready tayo diyan. (We are ready for whatever eventuality. We are prepared),” he said Sunday morning.

“Sa funding naman ‘di ba ang DOH merong hinihinging P2 billion supplemental fund. Nire-ready na yun (Regarding the funding, the Department of Health asked for P2 billion supplemental fund. That is being prepared already),” he added.

On Saturday, President Duterte agreed to the recommendation of the DOH to declare a State of Public Health Emergency after Health Secretary Francisco Duque III confirmed the sixth COVID-19 case in the country. Panelo said a copy of the Executive Order on Duterte’s declaration will be released Monday.

Panelo, however, asked the public not to believe reports circulating online that the Duque recommended for the declaration of the State of Public Health Emergency as early as February 21.

“Walang sinasabi si Secretary Duque, otherwise sinabi niya na yun. Hanggang walang sinasabi si Secretary Duque, ‘wag kayo maniniwala. (Secretary Duque never said anything like that, otherwise he would have announced that already. Until such time that he said something, don’t believe what you see),” he said.

The DOH raised the country’s COVID-19 alert system to Code Red, Sub-level 1 after the first case of local transmission was confirmed. The said alert level is a “preemptive call to ensure national and local government and public and private healthcare providers can prepare for a possible increase in suspected and confirmed cases.”

The alert level likewise ensures that “all human and material resources must be made available for duty and deployment.”

Duque the declaration of the State of Public Health Emergency to facilitate the sufficient and immediate access to funding, particularly for local government units, and ease processes on procurement, mandatory reporting, mandatory quarantine, and travel restrictions, among others.

Economic effects

Meanwhile, Panelo said President Duterte’s economic managers are doing their best to address the economic effects of COVID-19 after the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said the Philippines could lose at least $669 million and at least 87,000 jobs across five sectors due to the outbreak.

Panelo said that the government would just have to take it and do something about it even though he believed that ADB’s projection was international and not for the Philippines only.

“We have to take it. Ganyan talaga ang realidad (That’s the reality). The economic managers are trying to do something about it. Ganoon lang. (That’s what we can do),” he said.

“Pero sabihin mo na (But if you’ll say that) we can stop the losses, I don’t think we can,” he added.