Duterte donates his one-month salary for COVID-19 aid

President Rodrigo Duterte has opted to donate his one-month salary to raise the national government’s emergency funds allocated to curtail the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the country, Malacañang said on Sunday.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo made the announcement, as he confirmed that most members of Duterte’s Cabinet have pledged to cut 75 percent of their monthly salaries from the month of April to December to help the government step up its fight against Covid-19.

“The President is likewise donating his one-month salary for the cause,” Panelo said in a press statement.

Following the signing of Republic Act 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act on March 24, Duterte can now tap PHP275-billion emergency funds to address the Covid-19 threat in the Philippines.

READ: Yorme Isko and Manila City Council donate their full-month salary

On Saturday, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said majority of Cabinet members have pledged to donate 75 percent of their monthly wages to boost funding for countermeasures against Covid-19.

Panelo said some Cabinet secretaries have volunteered a salary deduction for the whole duration of the state of public health emergency to effectively halt the spread of the new pathogen.

“Other officials with the rank of secretaries are similarly giving portions of their respective salaries to boost the collective fight against the dreadful disease,” he said.

On March 8, Duterte signed Proclamation 299, placing the entire Philippines under a state of public health emergency.

The declaration of a state of public health emergency, which remains in effect unless lifted by Duterte, allows the government to immediately act on Covid-19 pandemic and utilize appropriate resources to implement measures to contain the coronavirus.

This article is written up in support to spread awareness for COVID-19 cases in the Philippines.

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Source: PNA