Members of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) met yesterday, March 13, to provide guidelines for the proper implementation of the emergency but temporary directives which are intended to address the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the country.

This is to officially announce that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte tested negative for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Senator Christopher Lawrence T. Go also tested negative for the said virus.

The Palace wishes to inform the public that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has been apprised by our health officials about the decision to raise the Code Alert System for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the country to Code Red Sublevel 2.

The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases convened this morning, March 12, and its members came into an agreement to adopt a resolution containing the implementation of measures intended to contain the spread of the coronavirus, as proposed by a Technical Advisory Group led by Dr. Edsel Salvana, which will be submitted to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte later today.

The Palace confirms that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, together with Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” T. Go, will have themselves tested for COVID-19.

In light of the recent developments and after careful review of the situation concerning the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the country, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte will not proceed to Boracay Island on Thursday, March 12, as earlier scheduled.

The Office of the President is closely monitoring the developments of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the country and it has come to its attention that some hospitals are experiencing overcrowding.

The Office of the President confirms that 163 Filipinos from Macau have arrived safely in the Philippines.

The Office of the President has been in constant communication with the Department of Health (DOH) and key agencies of the government ever since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has reached the country. In this connection, we are closely monitoring the developments relating to the disease as the DOH has just confirmed today, March 7, the 6th positive case of COVID-19.

News of foreign nationals purportedly contracting the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Philippines has reached the Office of the President.