To coordinate and manage the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government set up the national Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF – EID), through “inter-sectoral collaboration to ensure preparedness and adequate response to assess, monitor, contain, control, and prevent the spread of infectious disease epidemics in the country.” Chaired by the Secretary of the Department of Health, the IATF was activated on January 28, 2020 with members including the including the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Transportation (DOTr), Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), and Department of Tourism (DOT). The membership was later expanded to include many other agencies including the offices under the Office of the President, those related to national security, peace and order, basic services, among others. To respond to local situations, task forces are organized at the regional, provincial and municipal levels. The national IATF sets the parameters of allowed and restricted activities to guide the downline task forces.