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In his speech tonight, President Duterte claimed that he gave a solemn speech at the beginning warning Filipinos against the novel coronavirus.
But in February 2020, after the first case of the new disease had been confirmed, the President described as "hysterical" the response of the public against the virus. https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/724656/duterte-scores-public-s-hysterical-response-to-ncov-there-s-no-need-for-it/story/
A week later, he lauder the Department of Health for what he called was the government's prompt response against the threat. He also quipped that he wanted to slap the virus. https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/725532/duterte-says-philippines-can-defeat-threat-of-novel-coronavirus/story/
At that same event, President Duterte also continued to ignore distancing protocols suggested by the government, saying he would continue to shake hands because that was his job. https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/724659/duterte-to-continue-shaking-hands-amid-ncov-threats/story/
Here's his statement tonight https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/783455/duterte-claims-warning-philippines-at-start-vs-coming-covid-19-virus/story/
