President Rodrigo Duterte will “most likely” extend the duration of the state of calamity the entire country was placed under due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Malacañang said Monday.
Duterte signed Proclamation No. 929 on March 16, which declared a state of calamity throughout the country as Covid-19 cases rose.
According to the proclamation, the state of calamity declaration was only valid for six months, “unless earlier lifted or extended as circumstances may warrant.”
It is set to expire on Wednesday, Sept. 16.
“Most likely po [ie-extend], dahil habang wala pong bakuna, habang walang gamot sa Covid, patuloy po ang epekto ng pandemya,” Palace spokesman Harry Roque said in a virtual presser.
To mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, the country has imposed community quarantines and set public health standards including the mandatory wearing of face masks and face shields and physical distancing.
As of Sept. 14, the country recorded 265,888 Covid-19 cases with 4,630 deaths. John Ezekiel J. Hirro