Charles Teves
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque made new fans on Wednesday following his acknowledgement of memes about his pose when he visited Boracay.
His official Facebook page shared a compilation of the memes where Roque was photoshopped into various movies, anime, sporting events, etc.
“Akala niyo di ko nakikita. Tawa lang kayo. #kalmaAkoLangTo,” Roque said.
https://www.facebook.com/HarryRoque/posts/1313662042161624
According to several reports, Roque was glad that he is able to contribute positively amid the pandemic.
“Sa panahon ng pandemya eh natutuwa ako na kahit papano, mayroon tayong kontribusyon para maaliw ang ating mga kababayan,” Roque said.
“Kailangan po talaga natin na magkaroon ng kaunting aliw dahil alam niyo naman na ang mensahe ng presidente, bagamat nandiyan ang COVID-19, kaya po natin mabuhay in spite and despite,” he added.
But it wasn’t all smiles. Roque was slammed after he shared a meme of himself as Spider-man with the caption of “‘With great power, comes great responsibility.’ This is my gift, my curse. Who am I? I’m Spiderman.”
His post got on Reddit Philippines and elicited negative comments.
“Okay, if you’re going to equate yourself to someone like Spider-Man, THE VERY LEAST you can do, is know that it’s Spider-Man with a HYPHEN,” one Reddit user said.
“He really thinks he’s a hero….” said another user.
“Haai. Not Spider-Man. Maybe spider-pig idk (I don’t know),” said another.
Something I’ve been trying to point out:
There are organic, predictable outcomes in social media marketing and one of the easiest to predict is mockery. But the question is: Who benefits from it?
The reason why it’s best to refrain from these games is because YOU WILL BE USED. https://t.co/K8zWRAk5cS
— Dino Pineda (@dlspineda) October 8, 2020
Di na uso yang caption mo Mars. Nasa "Put finger down na kami". Charot! pic.twitter.com/d8n7gdPmi8
— Charot! (@IamCharotism) October 7, 2020
https://twitter.com/gbautistaaa/status/1313774993692594176
The memes started when a video surfaced online of Roque in Boracay waving his arms in the air as he invited people who live in modified general community quarantine and GCQ areas to visit the small island in order to help get the economy get back on its feet.
Roque said last Friday that his Palace briefings will be held on the island to get more tourists coming in.
He also said that a visit from President Rodrigo Duterte may happen “in the near future.”
Roque explained that the opening of Boracay will help the local economy as well as the people’s psychological well-being following the implementation of lockdown rules for several months.
“Ang muling pagbubukas ng Boracay sa turismo ay magiging mabuti hindi lamang para sa ekonomiya ngunit para din sa kalusugan ng pag-iisip at emosyonal ng mga tao na matagal nang nakakulong sa kanilang mga tahanan at naghahangad na makahanap ng isang maikling pagtakas mula sa kanilang quarantined life,” Roque said on Facebook.
Boracay opened on the first day of October.
The opening will help the tourism sector in the country while people who work in the industry go back to work, said Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat. She added that the public has nothing to worry about when it comes to health and safety measures on the island.
