Communications Secretary Martin Andanar assured the public that the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) will continue providing services to the public despite the number of COVID-19 cases in the agency climbing to 90 on Wednesday.
In a statement on Thursday, Andanar said that the PCOO will continue with its work-from-home arrangement as some of its offices go into lockdown due to the high number of COVID-19 cases.
"Rest assured that the delivery of essential and timely information to the Filipino public will continue despite the unfortunate circumstance we are facing," he said.
"As work at the New Executive Building (NEB) remains suspended, PCOO continues to adopt a work-from-home arrangement in order to fulfill its obligations and mandate to the Filipino people," he added.
The PCOO has recorded the following cases in its main and attached offices as of 8:50 p.m. of August 5:
* PCOO Proper: 24 active, 6 recovered, 1 death
* APO Production Unit: 9 active, 1 recovered, 1 death
* Bureau of Broadcast Service (BBS): 1 recovered
* National Printing Office (NPO): 32 active
* PTV-4: 5 active, 1 recovered, 1 death
* Philippine Information Agency (PIA): 1 active, 4 recovered
* Radio Television Malacañang (RTVM): 1 active, 2 recovered
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The following PCOO-attached offices have no cases of COVID-19:
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* Bureau of Communication Services (BCS)
* IBC-13
* News and Information Bureau (NIB)
* The PCOO has likewise tested the following employees in its attached offices:
* BCS: 75 employees total; waiting for RT-PCR test schedule
* IBC-13: 132 employees in Manila; waiting for RT-PCR test schedule
* NIB: 111 / 179 (Manila only)
* NPO: 32 / 445
* PIA: 125 / 488
* PTV-4: 121 / 557 (Manila only)
* RTVM: 78 / 158
According to Andanar, the PCOO continues to take proactive measures to address the situation and that they immediately conducted another batch of testing and contact tracing of the primary and secondary contacts of those newly infected staff.
"We will also continue our assistance and support to the families of those who have been infected by COVID-19 in the same way that we ensure the safety of all our personnel against the virus," he said.
He added that its COVID-19 Response Team, composed of COVID-19 Warriors from every office within PCOO, continues to coordinate all of the office’s efforts on contact tracing, testing, monitoring, and isolation/quarantine.
The number of COVID-19 cases prompted PTV-4 to take "Public Briefing: #LagingHandaPH", the program dedicated to informing the public of the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, off the air for one week, along with its other live programs.
The programs that will air in PTV-4 during this week are:
* Malacañang press briefing by Presidential spokesman Harry Roque every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday at 12 p.m.
* The daily press briefing of the Department of Health (DOH)
* President Duterte's talk to the nation that usually airs every late Monday evening
* "PTV Balita Ngayon", its hourly news breaks
* "Ulat Bayan", its nightly newscast at 6 p.m.
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The majority of its employees will work from home and most of its broadcast operations personnel will also be undergoing RT-PCR tests this week.