President Rodrigo Duterte is alive, well and working despite being out of the public eye for over a week as the country faces its worst covid-19 wave yet, said his top aide, Sen. Bong Go on Thursday.
Go released a photo of Duterte and himself, poring over work papers and newspapers. He did not say where the pictures, posted around midnight, were taken.
Duterte skipped his weekly address to the nation last Monday, rescheduled it to Wednesday and later cancelled it. Malacanang said this was to ensure his safety as at two Cabinet secretaries tested positive for COVID-19 since last week. His last late-night speech was aired March 29.
"Sa mga may masasamang Hangarin, Wag muna kayo mag celebrate!! Nandito lang si Tatay Digong. Tambak ang trabaho," Go said, referring to the President by his nickname.
"Hindi ito ang panahon ng pagsisisihan kundi panahon ng Pagtutulungan," he said.
The President's absence from the public eye revived the "Nasaan ang Pangulo" trend with some Twitter users wishing him ill.
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Some 24 million people in Metro Manila, Laguna, Cavite, Rizal and Bulcan are under strict lockdown or ECQ at least until April 11 to cap a worrying surge that has forced patients to queue up at hospitals.
This week, the Philippines crossed the 800,000-mark in terms of cumulative COVID-19 cases. Last week, the biggest single day tally was recorded, around 15,000
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