{"id":248094,"date":"2020-03-12T21:55:42","date_gmt":"2020-03-13T01:55:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=248094"},"modified":"2020-03-12T21:55:42","modified_gmt":"2020-03-13T01:55:42","slug":"palace-offices-undergo-disinfection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/03\/12\/palace-offices-undergo-disinfection\/","title":{"rendered":"Palace offices undergo disinfection"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
FILE: FIGHTING COVID-19. Personnel prepare to disinfect Malaca\u00f1an Palace premises on Wednesday (March 12, 2020) to keep President Rodrigo Duterte, Palace workers, and members of the press free from the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). The cleaning efforts are part of the government\u2019s preventive measures to contain the spread of the virus. (Contributed photo via PNA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 The main palace and other offices at Malaca\u00f1ang underwent cleaning and disinfection on Thursday as part of precautionary measures amid the threat of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The Presidential Security Group (PSG) disinfected the premises of Malaca\u00f1an Palace to ensure that President Rodrigo Duterte is protected against Covid-19.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cPSG troopers, headed by (Lt. Col. Magno Mapalad III) of Presidential Guards and (Lt. Col. Nereo Simbahan) of PSG Station Hospital, conduct disinfection and decontamination at Malaca\u00f1an Palace as a preventive measure against Covid-19,\u201d the PSG said in a Facebook post.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The disinfection came on the same day Senator Christopher Lawrence Go announced that he and the President would undergo the test for Covid-19 after having contact with some Cabinet members who had direct exposure to people infected with the coronavirus.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
In a separate statement, PSG commander Col. Jesus Durante III clarified that there will be no lockdown of Malaca\u00f1an Palace.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cOur measure is more on precautionary and preventive one against Covid-19, through disinfection and decontamination, especially (in) areas frequently used by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte,\u201d Durante said.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Work at the main Palace resumed an hour after the conduct of disinfection, he said, adding that cleaning the premises of Malaca\u00f1ang was meant to make Palace employees \u201cfeel at ease and safe while working.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cThis will be done (on) a scheduled basis to ensure not just the safety of our President but also all of those working behind him in the seat of our government, to continuously serve the Filipino people,\u201d Durante said.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
Meanwhile, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar also ordered the disinfection of the press working area and the press briefing area located at Malaca\u00f1an\u2019s New Executive Building.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Andanar gave the order to ensure the safety of reporters covering the activities of Duterte and other Palace officials.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
His directive also came after Finance Assistant Secretary Antonio Joselito Lambino II attended a weekly economic briefing at the Palace\u2019s press briefing room on Wednesday despite having contact with Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III who had been exposed to a Covid-19 patient.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cAt this point in time, when public health is at risk, we seek everyone\u2019s understanding and cooperation in taking the necessary precautions and in following safety protocols,\u201d Andanar said.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
He also advised Palace reporters and other Palace personnel who were present during the weekly economic briefing to voluntarily go on self-isolation and seek medical attention to avert the possible spread of infection.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Andanar also floated the possibility of having virtual press briefings to ensure that the regular press conferences would not be disrupted.
\nThe country now has 49 confirmed cases of Covid-19.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Duterte is expected to address the nation on Thursday afternoon about the drastic measures his administration is undertaking to contain the spread of Covid-19.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0\u2013 The main palace and other offices at Malaca\u00f1ang underwent cleaning and disinfection on Thursday as part of precautionary measures …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":248095,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-248094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-ruth-abbey-gita-carlos","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248094"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248094\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":248096,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248094\/revisions\/248096"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}