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.

We are one with the Filipino people in celebrating the victory of Mark “Magnifico” Magsayo when he dethroned Gary Russell Jr. to become the new WBC featherweight champion.

The Palace confirms that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has approved the designation of Rear Admiral Alberto Carlos of the Philippine Navy as the new chief of the Western Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and MGEN Ernesto Torres, Jr. of the Philippine Army as the new chief of the AFP Northern Luzon Command.

The Office of the Presidential Spokesperson (OPS) warns the public that some unscrupulous individuals have been using the names of Secretary Karlo Nograles and Secretary Silvestre Bello III to solicit an unauthorized medical bond/medical insurance, in the amount of P6,000.00, as part of recruitment and hiring procedure unlawfully using the letterheads of the Inter-Agency Task Force and the Department of Labor and Employment.

The Palace confirms that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte signed the appointment of Mr. Oscar G. Casaysay as National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) Executive Director.