We wish to reiterate that the government has already taken steps to address the concerns raised by the European Union (EU) Parliament–– issues that we believe are being used by the detractors of the Duterte Administration to color the perceptions of Filipino voters who in May will choose the country’s next leaders.

The Philippine government, through our Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Hong Kong, is currently extending assistance to our overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who tested positive for COVID-19.

The Palace extends its condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of former Press Secretary Ricardo “Dong” Puno, Jr., who passed away today.

CABSEC NOGRALES: Maraming salamat po. Bago po ang lahat, binabati ko po kayo ng Happy Valentine’s Day.

The Palace confirms that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte was recently exposed to household staff who tested positive for COVID-19. The President has since been tested for COVID-19, and while the results of the test came back negative, he is currently observing mandatory quarantine protocols.

The Alert Level for the province of Ifugao for the period of February 1, 2022 to February 15, 2022 shall be approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on January 31, 2022.

The Palace congratulates Atty. Michael Pastores Ong as Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals.

We are encouraged by the latest results of the OCTA Research December 2021 Tugon ng Masa National Survey, which highlight two important points: first, COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among adult Filipinos dropped to 5%; and second, only 2% of adult Filipinos contracted COVID-19 after being fully vaccinated.

The Palace views the growth of our economy––which grew 7.7% in the Fourth Quarter of 2021, bringing full year gross domestic product growth to 5.6%––as evidence of the strength and resilience of the Philippine economy, which continues to beat expectations despite the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and natural calamities like Typhoon Odette.

We have recently been informed that a video clip of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte recorded on September 30, 2021— in which he states that two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are sufficient (“tama na ‘yang dalawang doses”) — is being shared and utilized by some groups to campaign against the administration of COVID-19 booster shots.