THREAD: President Rodrigo Duterte holds media briefing in Malacañang. https://bit.ly/3bcamH5 

Duterte: Everything is well in the country. There’s nothing really to be extra scared of that coronavirus thing, although it has affected a lot of countries.

Duterte: In the Philippines, we only have 2 cases...they are imported, not a native of the Philippines. Isa lang ang namatay (dahil sa coronavirus).

Duterte on banning Chinese people in the country: It is not only a case of bad taste..remember there are so many Filipinos in China.

Duterte says it is 'bad taste' for Filipinos to be pushing for Chinese people to be sent back home.

Duterte: Remember that there are now so many thousands of Filipinos in China and they cannot go out because coming in or going out of China is prohibited and that is precisely to contain the propagation of the virus.

Duterte: Kung hindi naman galing China yung eroplano, they can come in.

Duterte says government has not identified places for quarantine.

Duterte says he has instructed Health Secretary Francisco Duque III to prepare a separate space in hospitals for people with novel coronavirus if there would be a need to begin quarantining individuals.

Duterte eyes a drug rehabilitation facility in Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija as a possible place to quarantine patients.

Duterte also floats the possibility of seizing private buildings to be used as quarantine sites or hospitals.

Duterte: I will expropriate. Kunin ko yung building mo, whether you like it or not. In times of emergency, I can always… It is confiscatory in nature.

Duterte: Kung tanungin niyo ako on barring the Chinese, my answer is no.

Duterte: Blaming the Chinese is [considered] xenophobia.

Duterte: This kind of mentioning the Chinese and blaming them it’s like a xenophobia.

Duterte: Stop this xenophobia thing. They’re blaming the Chinese na galing sa China. It (novel coronavirus or 2019-nCoV) can always incubate in some other places.

Duterte: It will die a natural death. Ito matatapos rin ito. But will it worsen in the meantime? Maybe. But you know, the progress of medical science now is far too different of the yesteryears.

Duterte: We have powerful medicines now. Even cancer is treatable now.

Duterte assures that the Philippine government will not hide any information about the novel coronavirus.

Duterte: What is there to hide? It’s not a treasure. It is not something of value to us. It does not contribute to the national wealth.

Duterte: Why should we hide? Why should we hide it to the press when we should tell to the world that there is this thing that is happening and this is what we should be doing.

Duterte says that the government is procuring face masks: There are supplies coming in.

Duterte: If there is really a virus going around, why do you have to be hysterical? Why don’t you just go to the hospital and have yourself treated? Or be quarantined if you have acquired?

Duterte: We go by the WHO. We cannot act on our own.

Duterte on whether he will limit his public appearances amid the novel coronavirus scare: When my time comes, it will come.

Duterte: When my time comes, you will know because I will come out of Malacañang in a funeral car.