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Netizens, politicians rail Harry Roque, label him as ‘pasaway’ after prexy spox tests positive for COVID-19

This comes a week after Roque himself declared that the Philippines has handled the global pandemic “excellently”.

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Netizens are having another field day as news broke of Palace spokesperson Harry Roque testing positive for COVID-19.

Roque revealed his test result during a media briefing earlier today, March 15. According to Roque, he was tested just before noon on Sunday, March 14, in his office.

He would receive the test results the same day, though he would opt to continue with the scheduled media briefing.

Roque would then proceed to tell Filipinos to be even more cautious, as he claims he himself has been following all health protocols to avoid getting the virus.

He would also retract his “assessment” of the country handling the COVID-19 pandemic exactly a week after he called it “excellent”.

Roque would also post a photo of himself in his office during the media briefing, though it was not stated who among his staff took the photo.

https://twitter.com/cnnphilippines/status/1371330295681544193

Politicians would be some of the first to react to Roque testing positive for COVID-19.

Sen. Nancy Binay would take a swipe at the government as it was their officials who recently tested positive for COVID-19.

Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate would call Roque the “ultimate pasaway” after learning that the Palace spokesperson tested positive for the virus.

This would be highlighted by youth-led media organization Assortedge, who would post Harry Roque’s viral photo with Subic Bay’s dolphins.

At least one person, however, has wished for Harry Roque’s speedy recovery—possibly out of professional courtesy.

Other netizens, however, were a bit more “celebratory” upon learning of Roque’s condition.

https://twitter.com/apostoool/status/1371320070853435396

Some would even revive Roque’s old quote of “nanalo tayo” after supposedly beating the predictions of OCTA Research last year.

https://twitter.com/beyondsofiee/status/1371351925132697600

Another netizen corrected Roque for supposedly saying we should “celebrate” one year of being on lockdown.

Others even compared Roque’s condition to that of another Harry: Harry Styles.

https://twitter.com/_nspn/status/1371340331791261696

Possibility of ECQ?

Harry Roque may have also hinted at a possible shift to the strictest quarantine protocols by April, i.e. the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

According to Roque, he is not sure if President Rodrigo Duterte will once again place the country under ECQ, especially with COVID-19 cases hitting a recent high of 5,404 new cases as of 4 pm today.

Roque also says he “can’t discount” the variants of COVID-19 for the possible spike, even as he mentioned he does not want to blame the new variants before the start of the media briefing.

Roque’s condition also raises concerns for President Rodrigo Duterte as he was with the President during a March 11 trip to Dumaguete for the inauguration of infrastructure projects.

Roque last tested negative for COVID-19 on March 10, which presumes he was negative even during a press briefing in Ilocos Norte held last March 12.

Roque is the latest of the government’s top officials to test positive for COVID-19.

Previously, the country’s top cop Debold Sinas and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) chief Wilkins Villanueva both tested positive for COVID-19.

They were scheduled to appear in a Senate hearing on Monday, March 8, but had to decline due to their health status. The hearing was supposed to discuss the shoot-out that happened between police and PDEA operatives last February 24, 2021.

Carlos ZarateCOVID-19Harry RoqueHarry Styleshealth protocolsNanalo TayoNancy BinaypositiveTony Leachonultimate pasaway

Written by Andronico Del Rosario

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