In a televised address from Malacañang on March 16, 2020 President Rodrigo Duterte announced that the entire Island of Luzon will be on enhanced community quarantine, this is to address the threat of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) which the Philippines reported 12 deaths and 142 cases, the quarantine will be operational until April 13.  The President added that the quarantine is not a martial law, he also said that “we do not have the luxury of time to wait if there is really such a connection of a contagion somewhere. I cannot go into a guessing game. I have to act”.
The president stated that he studied the worldwide trends and measures and the need for extreme caution during such times as these, come up a conclusion that stricter measures are necessary” with the quarantine announced under this situations all transportation is suspended, home quarantine will be enforced, There will be regulated provisions in food, medicines or essential health related services and the law enforcement will be on the checkpoints and streets to enforce the quarantine procedures.