Duterte declares PH state of public health emergency

President Rodrigo Duterte declared a state of public health emergency in the Philippines on March 9.

The declaration came after the Department of Health confirmed the first case of local transmission of COVID-19 in the country.

Proclamation No. 922 orders all government agencies and local government units to cooperate and mobilize necessary resources to combat the coronavirus, facilitating mandatory reporting and enforcing quarantine measures.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III recommended the declaration to ease processes such as procurement of critical supplies and intensify disease control prevention measures.