As the country implements measures to prevent the entry of the Omicron variant, Communications Secretary Martin Andanar assured local government units (LGUs) of the administration's support in fighting the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Andanar made the statement when he met local chief executives in Kibawe, Bukidnon this week.

During the brief engagement, the Palace official assured local officials that the Duterte administration will not leave them in the fight against the ill effects of the COVID-19 pandemic until the end of the President's term next year.

"Naa mi diri karon para i-assure si Mayor and the rest of the LGU officials that the President will continue to do his job nga paninguhaon nga makab-ot nato ang proteksyon batok COVID-19 (We are here to assure the Mayor and the rest of the LGU officials that the President will continue to do his job to ensure that we will reach protection against the COVID-19)," he said.

Andanar likewise sought the continued support of the LGU in the remaining months of the administration and asked for them to work with the national government and intensify campaigns to encourage more of their constituents to get vaccinated.

“Mangayo lang ko’g assurance pud ug suporta kay unom nalang ka bulan ang nabilin sa Duterte administration ug importante ni para sa recovery sa atong nasud gikan sa negative na epekto sa pandemya (I am asking for your assurance as well and support because we only have six months remaining and this is important for the recovery of our country from the negative effects of the pandemic),” he added.

The Philippines has placed 16 countries on its red list for reasons including the confirmed cases of the Omicron variant.

The government has also updated its testing and quarantine protocols for foreign travelers and returning Filipinos and suspended the order allowing the entry of foreigners into the country.

On Friday, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases cannot make a decision yet on whether to place areas in the country under Alert Level 1 because it is still waiting for "final conclusive data" about the Omicron variant from the World Health Organization (WHO).

"Wala pa yung comfort level ng IATF (The IATF is not yet comfortable) to definitely put and set and finalize the parameters for Alert Level 1. So dahil ganoon nga po (because of that), then we'll wait and see," he added.

"It's a developing thing, eh, with the WHO. We're getting data, they're sending us data but nothing so conclusive enough to give us enough comfort sa (in the) IATF," he continued.

According to the WHO, their preliminary data on the Omicron variant do not "indicate that this is more severe" but the direction was "towards less severity."