Malacañang said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) was probably already looking into what kind of assistance the Philippines can send to India as it struggles with the deadly spike of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases.
Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque made the statement as India continued to suffer from an alarming increase of COVID-19 cases that brought the total number of infections in the said country to 17.9 million.
In his press briefing Thursday, April 29, Roque said he was certain that the DFA was already thinking of how the Philippines can help India.
"I'm sure po pinag-iisipan na 'yan ng ating Department of Foreign Affairs kung paano rin tayo makakatulong sa India (I'm sure the DFA is already looking into ways the Philippines can be of help to India)," he said.
"Tatanugnin ko po kung ano ang ipapadala nating tulong, kung meron man, galing po sa ating Department of Foreign Affairs (I will ask the DFA what help can we send, if any)," he added.
India has reached 200,000 COVID-19 deaths. At least 300,000 new infections every day were recorded in the past week.
Despite this, Roque said in a radio interview on Wednesday that the Philippines was still expecting to get vaccines from India.
"Wala pa naman po tayong definite statement na hindi na makukuha iyong ating inorder, kasi iyan naman po ay napirmahan na (There is still no definite statement that we won't get our vaccine order anymore because the agreement has been signed already)," he told DZXL.
"Mayroon na tayong kontrata na sana po ay mapapatupad (We already have a contract which we hope will be fulfilled)," he added.
The Philippines has closed its borders to travelers from India from April 29 to May 14 due to the alarming increase of COVID-19 cases in the said country.
The so-called “double mutant” B.1.617 variant of COVID-19 was said to be behind the 300,000 fresh infections in India last week. The said variant was tagged a “double mutant” because of two notable mutations in its spike protein, which allow the virus to easily gain entry into the human body and multiply faster.
The variant first detected in India made headlines as cases surged in the said country. On Saturday, New Delhi reported more than 26,000 new cases and 306 deaths in just 24 hours, the equivalent of about one death every five minutes.
The variant has also been detected in other countries such as the United States, Australia, Israel, Switzerland, and Singapore. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the Philippines has not yet detected the presence of the double mutant variant.