PRRD could visit Cebu City but not anytime soon: Palace

FILE: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte updates the nation on the government’s efforts in addressing the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at the Matina Enclaves in Davao City on June 4, 2020. JOEY DALUMPINES/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

MANILA – As the number of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases in Cebu City nears 5,000, Malacañang said President Rodrigo Duterte will probably not visit the city anytime soon.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the 75-year-old President, considered vulnerable to Covid-19, will only be allowed to visit the city if there is a decrease in the number of Covid-19 cases.

“Hindi pa po siguro ngayon. Kinakailangan bumaba muna ang mga kaso ng Covid-19 (It probably won’t be anytime soon. The number of Covid-19 cases has to decrease first),” he said in a virtual presser on Tuesday.

Although Duterte’s plan to visit Cebu City would have to be pushed back, Roque expressed confidence that Cebuanos would take the President’s honest pieces of advice to heart.

“Sa Cebu po, hindi pa siguro in the near future. Pero talagang taga-Cebu naman po ang ating Presidente, kaya kampante siya na maiintindihan ng mga taga-Cebu kung mayroon man siyang mga sasabihin na galing sa puso at prangka (The President might not visit Cebu in the near future but the President is from Cebu, so he is confident that we will be understood by the Cebuanos if he has something to say that’s from the heart and frank),” he said.

Roque made this clarification after Duterte bared that he would visit Cebu City to reprimand Cebuanos for being “hard-headed” by failing to observe quarantine protocols.

“I will visit you. When I get there, I will be frank with you again because you are hard-headed,” Duterte said in a televised public address late Monday night.

In the same speech, Duterte said the rise in Covid-19 cases in the city can be attributed to Cebuanos being too “confident” and “complacent.”

However, Roque admitted that the President, who was tired of being stuck in Malacañan Palace would soon be visiting military camps after seeking approval from the Presidential Security Group (PSG).

“Pero hindi na po napigilan ng PSG, talagang iikot na po ang Presidente; dadalaw na po siya sa mga kampo ng military (But the PSG could not stop the President, the President is determined to go around; he will visit military camps),” he said.

Earlier, Duterte announced that he would take extra precautions in visiting military camps amid the continuous threat of Covid-19.

Asked if there would be a chance for Duterte to attend the christening and commissioning of BRP Jose Rizal, the country’s first missile-frigate, Roque said it would depend on the PSG.

“Wala pa po. Makikipagtawaran muna sa PSG para siya ay payagan (There is no news about it yet. He will have to bargain with the PSG so that he will be permitted),” he said.

Duterte was supposed to be guest of honor in the warship’s commissioning scheduled on the national hero’s birthday on June 19 but was moved to a later date.

Cimatu’s stint

After Duterte assigned Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu to oversee Cebu City’s fight against Covid-19, Roque expressed hope that the quarantine classification in the city would be downgraded from the strictest enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) to the less stringent general community quarantine (GCQ).

Talisay City, a component city under the province of Cebu, was placed under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) but later downgraded to GCQ following appeal of the local officials.

“Hopefully po the assignment will be as short as possible para po bumalik sa GCQ man lang ang Cebu City at ang Talisay (so that Cebu City and Talisay can return to GCQ),” he said.

Roque said he believed an “outsider” would help local officials in Cebu City manage the spread of the virus which will eventually lead to lowering in Covid-19 cases.

“Matindi po ang kanyang eksperiyensya at kakayahan at ang tingin ko po ay baka kinakailangan nga ng outsider para magkaroon ng mga pagbabago diyan sa Cebu (He has much experience and capability and I think an outsider would help implement changes in Cebu),” he said.

Meanwhile, he said there would be no need to appoint a temporary replacement for Cimatu to manage day-to-day operations at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) while he is away.

“Hindi naman siguro kinakailanan na magtalaga ng kapalit niya sa DENR. Maraming beses na po na binigyan ng special mission ang ating Secretary of DENR at di naman po kinailangan na magtalaga ng kapalit sa DENR (Perhaps there would be no need to appoint a replacement for him at DENR. He has been given special missions but never needed a replacement). So status quo po, he remains Secretary of DENR,” he said.