Duterte, IATF to meet in Davao City on Aug. 10

FILE: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte talks to the people after holding a meeting with the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) core members at the Malago Clubhouse in Malacañang on August 2, 2020. KING RODRIGUEZ/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte’s next meeting with select members of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Diseases (IATF-EID) is scheduled in Davao City on August 10, Malacañang said on Friday.

The meeting would be held barely a week before the lapse of the quarantine classifications in the country.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Duterte’s public address, which is usually delivered during his meeting with IATF-EID, is expected to be aired on television on Monday.

“Ang susunod pong broadcast natin ay sa siyudad ng Davao. Magkakaroon po ng pagpupulong ang Presidente kasama po ang ilang mga piling miyembro ng IATF sa araw ng Lunes (Our next broadcast is from Davao City. The President will meet with select IATF members on Monday),” Roque said in a virtual presser.

Roque did not mention the meeting’s agenda and whether the new quarantine classifications would be discussed.

On July 30, Duterte announced his decision to downgrade the quarantine status in Cebu City to a less restrictive general community quarantine (GCQ) from a more stringent modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ).

Apart from Cebu City, Duterte also initially imposed GCQ in Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan, Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal from August 1 to 15.

Also under GCQ are Talisay City, Minglanilla, and Consolacion in Cebu province.

However, Duterte decided on August 2 to place Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal under MECQ from Aug. 4 to 18 following the medical workers’ call for a “timeout” to prevent the collapse of the country’s healthcare system amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

Modified GCQ was implemented in the rest of the country until August 15.