Duterte ready to bring home Filipinos in nCoV-affected countries if situation worsens
MANILA, Philippines — The government is ready to repatriate Filipino workers in countries affected by the novel coronavirus if the public health emergency worsens, President Rodrigo Duterte said.
Duterte said Filipinos in areas with confirmed nCoV cases have nowhere else to run to if the number of deaths increase and they are driven away by their host countries.
"When it comes to a pandemic level, then there is no way that we can shirk away from the trouble of bringing them home. We have to bring them home. But I said impose the rules and tell them to strictly follow it," Duterte said during a gathering of local executives in Pasay last Monday.
"We will go and we will marshal all available carriers there by ship or by air. We will get then. And of course there will always be precautions. The caveat there is do not break the rules," he added.
There are more than 40,000 confirmed cases of nCoV worldwide, most of them from China. The virus has affected 24 countries and has claimed more than 900 lives.
Duterte said the government has enough funds to address the impact of nCoV. He also urged the public to keep their faith in the government as it works to contain the virus, which he described as an "idiot."
"If it goes out of hand, do not worry. (Finance Secretary Carlos) Dominguez has the money," he said.
"The national government remains to be on top of the threat of the coronavirus. We are prepared to handle this public health emergency in case the worst scenario happens," he added.
Duterte said he is ready to use the military and the police to maintain order in the event that the virus spreads in the Philippines.
"But if you say there is really a pandemic, then I will have to utilize, for orderly and obedience of people, the military and the police," the president said.
Duterte also called on doctors and researchers to work overtime to come up with a vaccine for the disease. He then claimed that the Filipinos do not get sick easily.
"If it’s a matter of contamination, we’ll just have to rely on the antibodies of - how strong the antibodies of the Philippines are. It is not easy for Filipinos to get sick. First, they pray hard...Second, we are better off than the others actually in following rules. It is when you do not follow the rules that trouble comes in. And that is true for every human act," the president said.
Duterte also slammed what he described as "idiots" who are taking advantage of the nCoV to sow fear.
"There are some kibitzers in politics, idiots if you may...they’re asking, what is the government of the Philippines doing? We do not see any infrastructure there to meet this... All, pessimistic. They just want to sow fear," the president said.
"If only one person died and you hardly cannot connect it with the coronavirus, then that is really, you sound an alarm there and it’s a stupid thing," he added.
Duterte also expressed hope that Filipinos would visit the country's tourist attractions despite the nCoV problem during a meeting with tourism stakeholders last Monday also in Pasay.
"The president wants Filipinos to visit the country’s local tourist destinations to boost the industry in the midst of the coronavirus scare," a Malacañang statement issued Tuesday read.
Duterte noted that some of the country’s major airlines and hotels have agreed to offer discounted rates. He also expressed optimism that nCoV would eventually be contained.
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