The Department of Health (DOH) welcomed the incentive-based initiative of the city government of Manila in curbing the transmission of COVID-19.

"Kami po sa Kagawaran ay nagagalak at kami po at sumusuporta sa mga pagkukusa ng mga LGUs (local government units) na katulad nito (We, in the Department, are glad and we support the initiatives of LGUs just like this)," the DOH said in a statement.
"Iisa po ang layunin ng Kagawaran at ng Siyudad ng Maynila at ito po ay mapuksa ang virus at masigurong hindi na ito kakalat (The goal of the Department and the City of Manila is the same -- and this is to eradicate the virus and ensure that it does not spread)," it added.
With this initiative, the DOH is hopeful that barangays will not conceal cases but instead encourage more individuals to follow the minimum health standards.
"Nawa'y sa paraan na ito ay ma-enganyo po ang ating mga kababayan na sumunod sa ating health protocols (May this initiative encourage our countrymen to follow our health protocols)," the DOH said.
"Huwag po natin itago kung may mga kaso sa barangay, dahil hindi po ito makakatulong sa kahit sino. Suportahan po natin ang programa ng City of Manila dahil lahat po tayo ay may benepisyo dito (Let us not hide if there are cases in the barangay, because it will not help anyone. Let us support the program of the City of Manila because we will all benefit from this)," it added.
Manila Mayor Isko Moreno had earlier announced that any barangay in the capital city that will register zero COVID-19 cases from Sept. 1 to Oct. 31 will receive a P100,000 reward.
Moreno said that the claim of any barangay on their COVID- free status will be verified and validated by the Manila Health Department.