President Duterte is set to hold a meeting with top government officials Thursday about the State's pandemic response as the country's coronavirus cases continued to drop.
A televised public address will be delivered by the President after the meeting, according to his spokesman Harry Roque.
"We have another meeting tomorrow and he will make another address to the nation on COVID," Roque said over CNN Philippines Wednesday.
Roque noted that he and other Cabinet members took coronavirus tests as a prerequisite to attending the meeting with the President. The Presidential Security Group has enforced strict safety and health protocols to ensure the President’s protection from the coronavirus.
"We just had our PCR test today. So today is Wednesday, we are meeting with him tomorrow, Thursday, and it would be hopefully aired also on Thursday night," Roque added.
This will be the second meeting of the President with several Cabinet members this week. The first meeting was held at the Malago clubhouse in Malacañang Park last Monday in relation to the government's disaster response and rehabilitation efforts following the onslaught of typhoon “Rolly.”
Roque noted that the country's cases of coronavirus have recently dropped mainly due to the public cooperation with minimum public health standards. He commended the public for following health protocols such as wearing of masks, frequent washing of hands, and safe physical distancing.
Roque had earlier said the government hopes the entire country will be placed under modified general community quarantine by early next year. He said the coronavirus situation will be closely monitored to determine the risk classification level next month.
The President has retained Metro Manila under the general community quarantine (GCQ) for the month of November. Other areas under GCQ are Batangas, Iloilo City, Bacolod City, Tacloban City, Iligan City, and Lanao del Sur this month "without prejudice to the declaration of localized enhanced community quarantine in critical areas."
All other parts of the country will stay under the least restrictive modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) in the same period.
As of Nov.3, the country has logged 387,161 cases of coronavirus with 7,318 deaths and 348,967 recoveries.