President Duterte is set to deliver a public address this Wednesday instead of Monday as planned, according to his spokesman Harry Roque.
The President is supposed to address the nation after a Cabinet meeting Monday but the schedule has been changed due to the anticipated “very long agenda” of the assembly.
The further reopening of the economy and the public transportation issues are among the topics in the Cabinet meeting called by the President.
"No address to the nation today. Very long agenda for Cabinet meeting today,” Roque told reporters. "Address to the nation moved to Wednesday,” he added.
The President usually delivers a public address every Monday after holding a meeting with some Cabinet members, who also serve in the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Infectious Diseases (IATF), on the government's pandemic response.
Earlier, Roque said the President and the Cabinet are expected to tackle the proposal to further open up the economy in a bid to stimulate business activities and livelihood of the people.
The issue of increasing the capacity of public transportation to allow more people to reach their workplaces is also part of the Cabinet discussion.
"Ang problema po talaga ngayon ay paano pataasin pa iyong sektor na transportasyon na pupuwedeng buksan kasi singkuwenta porsiyento ng ekonomiya ay bukas pero treinta porsiyento lang po ang transportasyon. So lahat po iyan ay idi-discuss mamayang hapon (The problem today is how to increase public transportation because 50 percent of the economy is open and yet only 30 percent of transportation is allowed. So all of these matters will be discussed Monday afternoon)," Roque said.
On the issue of allowing public utility jeepneys on the road, he said the issue on these vehicle has always been about roadworthiness.
He noted that jeepneys with certificates of roadworthiness have been allowed to ply their route. "So kung hindi po sila nakabalik, ibig sabihin hindi na sila roadworthy (So if they have not returned on the road, it means the vehicles are not roadworthy)," he said.