The government is now implementing the second phase of its so-called National Action Plan (NAP) to address the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
In President Duterte's public address aired on the wee hours of Wednesday, Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr., chief implementer of the National Task Force (NTF) on COVID-19, said the Phase 2 of the NAP was approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) last Thursday.
(NTF AGAINST COVID-19 / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
The NAP was formulated by the government in March after Duterte placed Luzon under partial lockdown to curb the threat of COVID-19. The NAP is considered the overall national strategy of the government against the ongoing pandemic.
According to Galvez, the second phase of the NAP has three imperatives -- all of which are focused on addressing the resurgence of COVID-19 cases while keeping the economy open.
"One of the major imperatives of the NAP is changing people's mindset that the success of our campaign is basically anchored on the people’s support and active participation and vigilance to strictly observe and promote the minimum health standards and disease prevention," Galvez said.
"e have to concentrate on prevention since prevention will not only save more lives but also save our critical resources. Hindi na tayo sir kailangan magkaroon ng extensive na healthcare once na we have been able to prevent it (We no longer need extensive healthcare, sir, once we are able to prevent it)," he added.
In the first phase of the NAP, Galvez cited several areas "with unity of command and unity of effort" that have been able to manage and contain the spread of the disease.
Among the areas were the National Capital Region (NCR), Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Ilocos Region (Region I), Cagayan Valley (Region 2), Western Visayas (Region 6), Eastern Visayas (Region 8), Davao City in Davao Region (Region 11), and Caraga (Region 13).
Meanwhile, Galvez emphasized that unity and leadership among local leaders and the private sector are "keys to success" in fighting the pandemic.
"Kailangan pong magkaisa tayo po dahil kasi minsan pagka po hindi nagkakaroon ng pagkakaisa katulad ng nangyari po sa Cebu , na nagkaroon po ng hidwaan sa politika, talaga pong minsan po hindi po sumusunod ang mga tao (We need to be united because if we are divided, just like what happened in Cebu where there is political rivalry, the tendency is that people will not follow the rules)," he stated.
At present, Cebu City is the only area in the country placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), the strictest form of quarantine.
Lastly, Galvez emphasized the need for the national and local government units to address and manage the cases in order to minimize the fatality rate.
Based on the task force's report, Galvez said there was an average of 11 deaths from June 1 to 30. Meanwhile, from July 1 to 6, the average was six deaths.
As such, Galvez maintained that the status of healthcare facilities in the country remains in "good" condition despite reports that several hospitals in Metro Manila and Cebu City have already maximized its capacity to attend to COVID-19 patients.
"If we address the rate of death, we can open our economy. Iyon po ang pinaka-ultimate objective po natin (It is our ultimate objective) that we have to manage death like the other countries like Vietnam and also Israel that were able to address death," he said.
As of Tuesday, the Department of Health (DOH) has recorded 47,873 confirmed cases (1,540 new); with 1,309 deaths (6 new) and 12,386 recoveries (201 new).