MANILA- Malacañang appealed to Philippine media on Monday to help communicate the risks of COVID-19 to Filipinos after President Rodrigo Duterte placed the entire country under a state of public health emergency due to the virus outbreak.

Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo urged local media outlets to publish statements made by Health Secretary Francisco Duque III as well as health bulletins issued by the government in relation to the virus.

"May we request and urge all media outlets to kindly publish all the statements made by Secretary Duque and all the bulletins issued by it (Department of Health) so that our countrymen will know how to react on the present crisis," Panelo said during a Palace press briefing.

"All media outlets which means all television stations, radio stations, and newspapers," he added.

In response to the government's appeal, officials of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas met with Communication Secretary Martin Andanar on Monday over the risk communication of the virus.

KBP said it has agreed to receive information from the Department of Health that would be coursed through the media outlets via the Presidential Communications Operations Office.

"Ang KBP nakikiisa para sa proper information dissemination tungkol sa lahat ng aspeto ng COVID-19. Ang objective po natin dito ay maiwasan ang disinformation," it said.

(The KBP is one with the goal of proper information dissemination regarding all aspects of the COVID-19. Our objective is to avoid disinformation.)

The government's communication arm has been criticized by Sen. Nancy Binay over its COVID-19 information drive.

Andanar however defended the government's efforts, saying it was coordinating with the government task force in charge of the country's response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Last month, the PCOO began airing reminders on preventive measures against COVID-19 on government-owned broadcast media outlets People’s Television Network, Philippine Broadcasting Service, and Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation.

The President on Sunday placed the country under a state of public health emergency after authorities confirmed local transmissions of the disease.

Duterte's order came nearly 3 weeks after the Department of Health suggested declaring a public health emergency when the first cases emerged.