PICC, PASAY CITY — The National Task Force against COVID-19 highlighted the milestones achieved by the national government in its pandemic response efforts, as well as the challenges faced by the country during the health crisis.


NTF Deputy Chief Implementer Sec. Vivencio Dizon presented these accomplishments on behalf of NTF Chief Implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. during the Duterte Legacy Summit held on Monday, May 30.

The Duterte legacy summit will serve as the culminating activity of the Duterte Legacy Campaign, which will serve as the last report of cabinet officials to the public by showcasing the achievements, policies, and projects of their respective agencies which have made an impact on the lives of the Filipino people.

National Action Plan

In his report, Dizon cited the major achievements of the task force such as the successful implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) against COVID-19 and the Prevent, Detect, Isolation, Treat, Reintegrate and Vaccinate (PDITRV) Strategy.

According to Dizon, the NAP and PDITR strategy enabled the government to contain and mitigate the spread of the virus by minimizing its health risks.

“The Philippines suffered for two years together with the entire world but I dare say if not for the bold, decisive, and swift action of the President and the cabinet members, we would not be where we are today,” he stressed.

During the onset of the pandemic in 2020, President Duterte approved the NAP which set in motion the multi-pronged initiatives carried out by the national government to combat the health crisis.

The first phase of the NAP focused on the containment of the virus, while the second phase focused on the ‘hammer and dance’ theory in order to create balance between implementing targeted lockdowns and breathing life into the economy.

The third phase of the plan focused on managing the health risks brought about by the pandemic by learning to live with the virus that included implementing an aggressive vaccination campaign

Meanwhile, the fourth phase of the NAP, which was implemented in the second half of 2021, focused on revitalizing the nation’s economy while effectively managing the health crisis.

“The first thing the President did was he made a very bold and swift call to action. He called for an unprecedented whole-of-nation approach,” Dizon said.

“He acknowledged the kind of leader he is. He knew the government cannot do this alone. Mabigat ang pandemya. Mabigat ang hinaharap natin,” he added.

Balancing health and economy

In his report, Dizon also explained the difficulties faced by the country during the outbreak of the pandemic, and how the Duterte administration responded to them.

He said these challenges included the closure of business establishments, which resulted in loss of jobs for many Filipinos.

“Where we are now is a far cry from where we were two years ago. We knew very little on how to handle the pandemic,” Dizon pointed out.

“Many of our countrymen lost their jobs. Many small scale and medium enterprises have closed down. But because of us working together, we have managed to overcome and now we are on our way to our full recovery,” he said.

“We always balance health and economy, despite the challenges and difficulties that we faced in managing, in creating this very delicate balance. But we have succeeded and we have prevailed. We could not have done it without Sec. Galvez who led the ramping up of the vaccination efforts of the government,” Dizon added.

Meanwhile, Galvez underscored President Duterte’s forward-looking mindset and decisive leadership which allowed the government to effectively implement its COVID response strategies and protect all Filipinos from the pandemic.

“It was through President Duterte’s guidance and strong leadership that we were able to address and overcome the pressing challenges facing our COVID-19 interventions. Thank you Mr. President, for putting your trust and confidence in the men and women of the task force,” he said.

To date, the NTF deputy chief implementer said the Philippines has received a total of 245.23 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines from eight different vaccine manufacturers.

The Philippine Government has also administered over 150 million doses and fully vaccinated 69.3 million Filipinos. ###