MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday assured the public that there would be sufficient food supply while the entire Luzon is under an “enhanced community quarantine” to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Duterte, in a speech in Malacañang, said he was assured by San Miguel Corp. President Ramon Ang and other food conglomerates that there is enough food for the public in the coming weeks.
“I have been assured [by] Ramon Ang mismo (himself) of San Miguel and the other food conglomerates that there will be sufficient food. There will be no hunger in the coming weeks because we have enough supplies, ” Duterte said.
While there is enough food supply, the President called on barangay captains to ensure their constituents would have food on their tables or else they could face sanctions.
“The barangay captains should call a number and at least food, rice and some, ano, ulam, puwede niyong ibigay para sa ating mga kababayan,” Duterte said.
“If you violate this, you can be liable for dereliction of duty,” he warned.
According to a memorandum released by Malacañang, the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon will be in effect until midnight of April 13, 2020.
Health officials have so far recorded 142 cases, including 12 fatalities, related to COVID-19, a respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus that first emerged in China’s city of Wuhan in Hubei province in late 2019.
The country is currently under a state of public health emergency due to the virus, which originated from Hubei province in China.
The Philippine government has also upgraded its alert on COVID-19 from Code Red Sublevel 1 to Code Red Sublevel 2, which is hoisted when there is evidence of community transmission and prevalence of cases beyond what the government can address.
People who have COVID-19 could recover since for most people, its symptoms were mild like fever and cough. But the illness could also be worse or serious for others and possibly lead to pneumonia, especially for older adults and those with existing health problems.
The World Health Organization has declared COVID-19 a pandemic since it has already infected more than 160,000 people and killed over 6,000 in over 140 countries all over the world.