Presidential yacht used as floating quarantine for military frontliners

BRP Ang Pangulo, the presidential yacht which was converted to a floating quarantine facility, has so far accommodated 93 military frontliners who acquired the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) while in the line of duty, the Philippine Navy (PN) said Monday.

Most of the frontliners have already recovered and at present, only 17 patients are still in isolation in the presidential yacht, said Lieutenant Commander Maria Christina Roxas, acting director of the naval public affairs office.

Vice Admiral Giovanni Bacordo, PN Flag Officer in Command, said the facility will continue to serve military frontliners since it has only reached a little more than half of its 28-bed maximum capacity.

“Right now, the fill-up (rate) is about 50 percent. The President’s instruction for BRP Ang Pangulo is to accommodate only the frontliners so all of those who are isolated in the facility right now are [military] frontliners,” he said.

Aside from BRP Ang Pangulo, Bacordo also directed all the navy bases and stations in the country to build an emergency quarantine facility.

On April 3, President Duterte ordered the Navy to convert BRP Ang Pangulo into an isolation facility to cater to military frontliners who have tested positive for the viral disease. The remodelling of the ship was completed after two days.

Three exclusive compartments inside the presidential yacht were transformed to isolation wards.

The BRP Ang Pangulo is currently docked at the Manila South Harbor, accepting patients who are already on their way to recovery from the V. Luna Medical Center.