Duterte wants to welcome Filipino repatriates from virus-hit China — Nograles

President Rodrigo Duterte has expressed intention to welcome the first batch of Filipinos to be repatriated from China due to the novel coronavirus outbreak there, a Malacañang official said Wednesday.

No decision has been reached between the President, the Presidential Security Group and Presidential Management Staff, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said, but Duterte would like to be present at Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija on Saturday to receive the repatriates.

“There was a discussion [about] whether or not [the President will receive the repatriated Filipinos],” Nograles told reporters.

“He’d like to be there on Saturday. But tignan muna natin sa PMS and sa PSG.”

At least 40 Filipinos from virus-hit Hubei province, whose capital Wuhan City is considered the epicenter of the viral epidemic, had signified plans to return to the Philippines, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.

The Filipinos will arrive at Clark Airport and will then be transported to the drug rehabilitation facility inside Fort Magsaysay where they are expected to undergo a 14-day quarantine.

On Tuesday, Duterte instructed Health Secretary Francisco Duque III  to go to Fort Magsaysay “to properly address the people affected in detail.”

The novel coronavirus, which was first detected in Wuhan last December, has claimed at least 490 lives and infected over 24,000 people.

Authorities assured that existing travel restrictions will not affect the repatriation process. — Virgil Lopez/RSJ, GMA News