President Rodrigo Duterte has placed himself under self-quarantine after he was exposed to some Cabinet officials who were at the March 21 meeting in Malacañang attended  by a lawmaker earlier reportedly tested positive for COVID-19, but now has been declared as negative for the disease.

Senator Bong Go said that Duterte would be staying at the Bahay Pagbabago inside the Malacañang Complex until April 7.

Duterte will celebrate his  75^th birthday on Saturday.

Go also decided to undergo self-quarantine himself  since he was in the meeting that was attended by ACT-CIS party-list Representative Erick Go Yap.

The Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) on Friday evening reported that they made a mistake and apologized for saying Yap was tested positive for COVID-19, but actually is negative for the disease.

The RITM said they made a “clerical error.”

The President, Go, cabinet members, as well as the Presidential Security Group (PSG) had earlier received that wrong information that Yap was positive and had gone under quarantine.

In fact, the PSG earlier said they would be in a lockdown as all PSG personnel were told to be on quarantine due to Yap’s positive medical diagnosis from RITM.

Aside from Yap, also present in the meeting were top officials of the Senate and House of Representatives as well as Cabinet members including Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, Social Welfare Secretary Rolando Bautista and Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado and Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr.

Bautista, Avisado and Galvez have gone earlier into self-quarantine as well.

In a statement earlier, presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Duterte would “continue with his work while on quarantine.”

“His only birthday wish is for our countrymen to stay home and the total eradication of the coronavirus,” Panelo said./Stacy Ang