What Duterte Said in His Weekly Speech (March 15)

Here's a recap of what President Rodrigo Duterte said in his weekly speech to the nation. This one was delivered on Monday, March 15.

• In his report to President Duterte, COVID-19 Vaccine czar Sec. Carlito Galvez Jr. says the Philippines can expect vaccines from India by the third quarter of 2021.
• Health Sec. Francisco Duque III says the health department has allocated the needed second dose for COVID-19 vaccination using Sinovac.
• Duque and Galvez suggest distributing all available AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines as first dose for health workers. AstraZeneca requires two doses of its vaccine.
• Duque says the Cordillera Administrative Region, National Capital Region, and Central Visayas have high healthcare utilization rate.
• Duque says most of the new COVID-19 cases are from Metro Manila.
• READ: COVID Cases Continue to Surge with Over 5,000 New Infections 
• Duque calls on local government units to intensify contact tracing efforts and COVID-19 preventive measures.
• Duque attributes the spike in COVID-19 cases to increased mobility and further reopening of the economy.
• Duterte says the government needs to distribute face masks to "everybody."
• READ: Duterte Tells Public: Wear Face Mask with Nose Covered
• Duterte asks his spokesperson Harry Roque if he validated his positive COVID-19 test result.
• READ: Duterte Spokesman Harry Roque Gets Sick with COVID-19
• Duterte tells Filipinos not to "despair" over COVID-19 pandemic, says he will not leave the public.
• Duterte says "squatters" should be a priority for COVID-19 vaccines.
• READ: Duterte on COVID: Don't Despair, We've Been Through Worse