President Duterte explained to the public that he was holding his weekly pre-recorded public address because someone from the government had to communicate with the public the status of the country's coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic response efforts.
Duterte made the statement during the pre-recorded episode of Talk to the People aired late Monday evening, January 10.
In his opening remarks, the President acknowledged that current restrictions would limit gatherings, but said the government must continue working amid the rise of COVID-19 cases.
"If bawalan mo lahat magtrabaho (If they will prevent us from working), then the machinery of government will stop to grind," he said.
"Sino ngayon ang mag (Who will then become)--- what is the face of government at this time?" he added.
Duterte recognized the dangers of their weekly meeting, but said the risks came with the job.
"We do not want to do it. One is really because of our safety, public health; and second is, well, somebody has to communicate with the people," he said.
"Ngayon, kung magka-COVID kami, then so be it. Kasali sa trabaho 'yan, eh. Now kung mamatay ako (Now, if we catch COVID-19, then so be it. That's part of the job. Now, if I die), then so be it," he added.
The Philippines is currently facing a spike in COVID-19 cases possibly fueled by the Omicron variant. On January 10, the country logged 33,169 new cases, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 2,998,530.
In an attempt to control the further spread of the disease, the government placed Metro Manila and other nearby provinces under Alert Level 3 until January 15 and ordered an increase in bed capacity in the said areas.