It’s back to work for President Duterte after falling ill over the weekend.
The President is expected to meet the Cabinet Wednesday afternoon to tackle concerns such as hastening the procedures in the Department of Agrarian Reform, the government’s immunization program, and assistance to the agriculture sector.
The closed-door Cabinet assembly is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. in Malacañang.
“Among other topics, the focus of our meeting will be how to streamline the procedures in DAR, how to alleviate the lives of farmers and fisherfolk, how to provide small farmers and fisherfolk better access to credit and loan facilities,” Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said.
Nograles said the President and the Cabinet were also expected to discuss “how to improve our agricultural productivity while making the programs more inclusive, allowing small farmers and fisherfolk to play a bigger part in nation-building.”
“Will also discuss the National ID system. And the immunization program of DoH,” the former Davao City lawmaker said.
The President earlier directed the Cabinet to remove the bottlenecks derailing the resolution of land use conversion cases and hasten the DAR processing of applications.
He also previously appealed to parents not to let the Dengvaxia controversy stop them from getting their children vaccinated to fight other diseases. He declared that not all vaccines are “deleterious or dangerous” as he expressed concern over the decreasing number of children inoculated to combat certain diseases.
Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo assured the public that the President was healthy enough to return to work after suffering a slight fever last week. “Obviously, there can be no other conclusion,” Panelo said when asked if the President has recovered from his illness.
The President skipped the barangay summit on peace and order in Leyte last Friday because he was not feeling well. His absence sparked fresh speculations about his health, forcing Duterte to appear on a Facebook video Sunday to dispel rumors about his death.
Duterte resumed his private activities last Monday, including visiting his mother’s grave and meeting families of slain soldiers in Davao City. The next day, he offered his condolences to Labor Undersecretary Jacinto Pares during a visit to the wake of his wife Olivia at the Heritage Park in Taguig City.
The President’s next public appearance will be the peace and order summit for barangay officials in Albay Friday. (Genalyn Kabiling)