World Bank lauded Duterte for saving 100k lives, says Dominguez

The World Bank has cited President Rodrigo Duterte’s decisiveness in handling the coronavirus menace and probably saving 100,000 lives, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said Monday.

The finance chief said he recently met with officials of the World Bank, who acknowledged Duterte’s quick response to the coronavirus threat by banning entry to foreigners in February and locking down Luzon in March.

“They said that your decisiveness… probably has saved 100,000 lives in the Philippines, so again, thank you for being so decisive,” Dominguez told the president in a televised briefing.

Early in February, Malacañang issued an order temporarily denying entry to travelers from China and its Special Administrative Regions.

The order was eventually expanded to cover all foreigners seeking to enter the Philippines.

On March 15, Duterte placed Metro Manila under a community quarantine that became a Luzon-wide lockdown two days later.

Other Cabinet members earlier said the president’s orders for the containment of the virus helped drive down the number of cases in the country.

The Department of Health has recorded 4,932 COVID-19 cases with 315 deaths and 242 recoveries as of Monday afternoon.

This makes the Philippines the country with the highest number of COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia, a title previously held by Malaysia which reported 4,817 cases as of Monday. -NB, GMA News