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President Rodrigo Duterte has put the entire country under a state of calamity to allow the government to tap more funds to contain the spread of COVID-19, as cases and deaths in the Philippines continue to rise.
Proclamation No. 929, which was signed Monday but released to the media only last night, will take effect for a period of six months unless the president lifts it earlier or extends it further, “as the circumstances may warrant.”
The declaration, which was recommended by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, is meant to allow the government enough room to maneuver and mobilize resources to counter the spread of the virus in the country.
“Despite government interventions, the number of cases of COVID-19 continues to rise,” the president said in the proclamation.
“Such declaration will, among others, afford the National Government, as well as LGUs [local government units], ample latitude to utilize appropriate funds, including the Quick Response Fund, in their disaster preparedness and response efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 and to continue to provide basic services to the affected population,” he stated.
Duterte directed all government agencies and local governments to “undertake critical, urgent, and appropriate disaster response aid and measures” to mitigate the spread of the virus.
The chief executive also tasked the Armed Forces of the Philippines to support law enforcement agencies across the country in imposing “all necessary measures to ensure peace and order in affected areas.”
Prior to the president’s declaration, at least eight other local governments in Luzon had already declared a state of calamity, including the city of Manila, San Juan, and Muntinlupa.
As of this morning, two more people have died from COVID-19, bringing the total number of deaths in the country to 14.
One of the fatalities was case PH26, a 76-year-old man who died yesterday afternoon from Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and severe pneumonia. The elderly man also had Type 2 diabetes and hypertensive cardiovascular disease, and tested positive for COVID-19 on March 9 and was admitted to the Adventist Medical Center in Manila.
The other death, case PH129, was a 67-year-old male who also succumbed to Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and community-acquired pneumonia. The man, who tested positive on March 15, was also hypertensive, and had been admitted to the Lung Center of the Philippines in Quezon City.
