Duterte to address nation today

DAVAO CITY, Philippines — President Duterte is set to address the nation from his home city today where he has been staying since Aug. 3.

The President shall assess the latest updates in the COVID-19 crisis in a meeting here with several Cabinet members as well as the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).

After the meeting, he will brief the nation on the pandemic response and is also expected to tackle issues and controversies that have emerged lately, including those concerning the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).

Members of the Cabinet and the IATF are also expected to fly in here early today for the meeting later this evening.

The President last met with the IATF in a hastily called conference last Aug. 2 following the request of medical frontliners for a timeout and revert Metro Manila and its environs to an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) status after noting a spike in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases.

But Duterte instead placed the National Capital Region and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal to a modified ECQ status to address the concerns of medical frontliners.

The President is expected to stay in his hometown for a little longer before returning to Manila.