Duterte: Life first, reopening not yet an option

President Rodrigo Duterte emphasized in his fifth State of the Nation Address that prioritizing life over economic considerations during the pandemic prevented up to 3.5 million infections based on expert projections.

Duterte acknowledged initial difficulties in ramping up testing capacity but highlighted current progress with 93 accredited laboratories and a goal of conducting 1.4 million tests by end of July.

The President also stressed that opening the economy to pre-COVID-19 levels is not yet an option due to ongoing infections, citing examples like America where early reopening led to increased cases.