By Argyll Cyrus Geducos President Duterte said the country is doomed if no vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is developed soon because the funds allocated for the pandemic crisis will not last long. President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (KING RODRIGUEZ/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) In his late-night public address Friday, President Duterte gave the assurance that the P275 billion budget to address the pandemic will not be pocketed by officials, but said it will run out fast. "Sabi ko may pera tayo. Hindi ba? O ngayon dumating, kailangan natin ng bilyon. Pero hindi ito tatagal. Dadating ito ng six months, patay na tayo," he said. (I said we have the money, right? Now it's here, and we really need billions. But this will not last. It may last six months but beyond that, we're doomed.) "If they cannot come up with a vaccine, patay tayong lahat. Hindi tayo makalabas, hindi na tayo makatrabaho. Maglabas ka, patay ka." (We'll all be dead. We cannot go out, we cannot work. If you go out, you die.) Duterte said it was important for the people to stay at home to prevent the spread of the deadly disease. "Kaya ang pinagbabawal kasi hindi matapos ito. Kaya kung ayaw ninyo, kayo na lang ang tapusin ko para maprotektahan ko ‘yung mga inosente na ayaw mamatay," he said. (That's why we're not allowing you to go out because it will not end otherwise. So if you don't want to obey, it's you I will end so I can protect the innocent who don't want to die.) 'I decided fast' President Duterte said it was a good thing that he responded swiftly to the threat of the coronavirus or the country would have more confirmed COVID-19 cases. "Hindi ko sabihin, magpasalamat kayo nauna tayo ng ilang linggo. Nagdesisyon na kaagad ako kasi pinag-aralan ko na ang COVID," he said. (I'm not saying you should thank me because our response was ahead for a few weeks. I decided quickly because I studied COVID.) "Sinusundan ko na ang coronavirus niyan because I read. Nagbabasa ako. Hindi na ako sabihin kung anong binabasa ko, basta binabasa ko. I keep posted myself." (I was already following that coronavirus because I read. I read. I won't say what I'm reading, but I'm reading something. I keep myself posted.) As early as January, people had been clamoring for the government to impose a travel ban from China where the disease originated. However, the President said he was not keen on banning travelers from China. "Mahirap 'yang ano, sabihin mong (It is hard to say that) you suspend everything because they are not also suspending theirs and they continue to respect the freedom flights that we enjoy," he said then. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III was also reluctant to recommend banning travelers from China from entering the country. "If we do this, then the concerned country — China in this case — might question why we're not doing the same for other countries that have reported confirmed cases of novel coronavirus," he said. Meanwhile, President Duterte said he was frank about the virus from the very beginning and even warned the public that a disease will come. "Right at the beginning, I was very frank and very emphatic about it. Not really in strong words. Sinabi ko may dadating na sakit (I said a disease will come)," he said. "Walang gamot ito. Ang gamot nito ang katawan mo lang. Hindi ito TB. Hindi ito ‘yung nasugatan." (There's no cure for it. The cure is your body. This is not tuberculosis. This is not like when you're wounded.)