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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Duterte eyes return to Odette-hit provinces despite COVID-19 case surge

Duterte eyes return to Odette-hit provinces despite COVID-19 case surge

Published Jan 5, 2022 11:21 am

President Duterte has expressed a desire to go back to the provinces that were ravaged by typhoon "Odette".

President Rodrigo Duterte (Malacañang photo)


This, despite the apparent new surge in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases that's slowly sweeping across the nation.

Duterte, in his pre-recorded "Talk to the People" public briefing that was aired Wednesday morning, Jan. 5, said he wanted to pay another visit to the Odette-hit provinces "to make a review and see if my ordered were followed".

"So gusto ko lang tignan yung (I just want to see) what was the progress of our government intervention there. Bibisitahan ko lahat yan ulit ( I will visit all of those again). Maybe middle of a--second or third quarter of January," Duterte said.

Among Duterte's orders was the utilization of BRP Ang Pangulo--the presidential yacht--as a hospital for those who needed treatment after the storm.

The BRP Ang Pangulo (Photo from Wikipedia)


"That is a presidential yacht which I never used. Kasi sa pangalan pa lang yate eh (As the name says, it's a yacht). So every--itong mga disaster (disaster), they should be there. Set sail doon sa mga (It should set sail to these) areas so that they can be easily converted to mini-hospitals where the injured pwedeng magtira doon muna (can stay) while being treated," he noted.

When Office of Civil Defense Administrator Ricardo Jalad confirmed to Duterte in the public briefing that BRP Ang Pangulo was indeed being used as a hospital in Siargao, the President said, "That's good I'm very happy to hear it. It should stay there for as long as it is needed by the populace."

"Anyway we will have a sort of an assessment after I shall have visited those places ngayong January, second or third quarter, maybe. An sha' allah (God willing)," Duterte said.

As of Wednesday, Jan. 5, the areas of Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, and the National Capital Region (NCR) have been escalated to alert level 3 from alert level 2, with the COVID-19 case surge being the primary reason.

The significant uptick in COVID-19 infections is reported being caused by the Omicron variant.

Related Tags

President Duterte typhoon covid-19 visit surge Talk to the People Omicron Alert Level 3 Alert Level 2 presidential yacht brp ang pangulo provinces odette
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