VIRAL: Roque’s Antics As He Refuses To Name Cabinet Members He Abhors

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque went viral on social media on Thursday, March 25,  for his antics as he refused to name the Cabinet members that he abhors based on his own admission.

During an interview on “Deretsahan”  with News5’s chief Luchi Cruz-Valdes on Wednesday, March 24, Roque said there are Cabinet members that he "absolutely” abhors and would not have anything to do with.

Roque, however, declined to name them. "Ayaw,” he said, laughing. “Ganito na lang, bleh!" he said while making face and a gesture during the interview.

“Pero ako, authenticity, hindi ako nakikipag-plastikan sa kanila. Bahala sila,” he declared.

Roque was asked about “unity” among President Duterte’s Cabinet members, and he said there were those that he really admires and respects for being very brilliant.

“Meron talagang napakagagaling,”  Roque said, mentioning the economic managers.

He added that he has gotten close to Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. and Health Secretary Francisco Duque III because they are the ones constantly briefing Duterte before the President addresses the nation.

In his Thursday briefing, Roque maintained he would not name the Cabinet members that he abhors. “Pang ‘That’s Entertainment’ ‘yan, hindi ‘yan pang press briefing,” he said, referring to a former variety TV show that featured young celebrities.

Screenshots of Roque while being interviewed garnered 104, 000 reactions on The Philippine STAR’s Facebook page and 16,000 comments. The post was shared 46,000 times as of Thursday and many poked fun at what he did during the interview.

Roque is in the news daily being the one who answers almost all issues concerning the President and the administration, including the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases in charge of handling the COVID-19 pandemic.

He has been assailed many times for supposedly interpreting the President’s pronouncements differently and for violating quarantine protocols amid the coronavirus pandemic, among other issues. Roque was also asked about these things during the interview.

A former human rights lawyer, Roque had also been widely criticized for taking positions contrary to his advocacies before joining the government. He resigned as Duterte’s spokesman in 2018 to run in the 2019 elections. He returned to his position in April last year.

Last March 15,  Roque said he tested positive for COVID-19. On Thursday, March 25, he announced that he already tested negative for the disease and is about to end his isolation period.

Roque said he has been issued a certificate of quarantine, a document given to persons who got a negative test result.

"Before you are given a certificate of quarantine, you should have a negative PCR  (polymerase chain reaction) result. So I tested negative in the PCR (test)," the Palace spokesman disclosed.

Roque, also the spokesman of the IATF, said he would be careful about going to hospitals as a precautionary measure. He said he visited seven hospitals two weeks before he tested positive for COVID-19.

"If there is no need to go to the hospital, I won't go to the hospital," Roque said.

Roque continued conducting press briefings while he was in isolation.