Manila, Philippines - President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has declared "State of Calamity" throughout the Philippines due to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak.
This was after President Duterte signed Proclamation No. 929, and it is based on this that it will take 6 months unless first lifted or extended "as circumstances have warrant".
The Proclamation states that under Section15, Article II of the Philippine Constitution is a state policy to protect and promote the right to the health of citizens.
Earlier, the President issued Proclamation No. 922 declared the State of Public Health Emergency nationwide because of COVID-19.
All government agencies and Local Government Units (LGUs) join forces to provide assistance, cooperation and mobilize the necessary resources to combat COVID-19 and prevent the threat of virus outbreaks.
The Code Alert System for COVID-19 was upgraded to Code Red Sublevel 2 in accordance with the Department of Health (DoH) and the Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF).
Despite the government's intervention to fight COVID-19, its number of confirmed cases has continued to rise.
In accordance with Republic Act No. 10121 of the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010, "the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council has recommended the declaration of a State of Calamity throughout the Philippines."
Due to the declaration, the National Government and LGUs, including the Quick Response Fund, have sufficient funds for their disaster preparedness and response efforts to prevent the spread of Covid 19 and to provide basic services to the affected population.
In Section 2 of the proclamation, the Enhanced Community Quarantine was implemented throughout Luzon from 12 midnight today, March 16 to April 12, 2020.
All government agencies and LGUs joined forces against COVID 19.
All law enforcement agencies with the assistance of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) have been required to come up with all relevant guidelines to ensure peace and order in the affected areas.
The Executive Secretary, Secretary of the DoH and all other concerned heads of the department have been assigned to issue guidelines to govern Enhanced Community Quarantine throughout Central Luzon.