Andronico Del Rosario
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.
'MAS MAGING MAINGAT PA'
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque advised the public during a press briefing Monday to be more cautious after he tested positive for COVID-19. pic.twitter.com/VbEfDe23R9
— The Philippine Star (@PhilippineStar) March 15, 2021
He would also retract his “assessment” of the country handling the COVID-19 pandemic exactly a week after he called it “excellent”.
https://twitter.com/joseph_morong/status/1371315388542193665
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.
Senator Nancy Binay hits government officials violating health protocols. Binay says curfews, liquor bans are useless if officials continue to disobey the protocols themselves.
Recently, PNP chief Debold Sinas and Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque tested positive for COVID-19. pic.twitter.com/b5dyy3KhEa
— Rappler (@rapplerdotcom) March 15, 2021
Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate would call Roque the “ultimate pasaway” after learning that the Palace spokesperson tested positive for the virus.
House deputy minority leader and Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate says presidential spokesperson Harry Roque is "ultimate example of pasaway." | @JMAurelioINQ pic.twitter.com/yMHOff5d9q
— Inquirer (@inquirerdotnet) March 15, 2021
This would be highlighted by youth-led media organization Assortedge, who would post Harry Roque’s viral photo with Subic Bay’s dolphins.
JUST IN: President Spokesperson Harry Roque tests POSITIVE with COVID-19. Despite his repeated warnings to the Filipino people to stay at home to curb the disease, Roque has been seen in multiple vacation spots in the Philippines including Subic and Boracay. #StayAtHome pic.twitter.com/MQccaXjXEy
— Assortedge (@assortedge) March 15, 2021
At least one person, however, has wished for Harry Roque’s speedy recovery—possibly out of professional courtesy.
Praying for Pres. Spox , Sec. Harry Roque. I wish you the best of health and quick recovery! Thoughtful prayers are being sent your way with the hopes that you will feel better soon. https://t.co/i4FagydqrO
— Tony Leachon MD (@DrTonyLeachon) March 15, 2021
Other netizens, however, were a bit more “celebratory” upon learning of Roque’s condition.
Harry Roque just tested positive for COVID19. That's it. That's the tweet.
— Francis Baraan IV (@MrFrankBaraan) March 15, 2021
https://twitter.com/rebolushawn/status/1371321191999315973
https://twitter.com/apostoool/status/1371320070853435396
Broke the news to the office that Harry Roque tested positive with a comment "omygod may Diyos nga" & I didn't realize our boss was behind me. Na-judge na ako haha.
— Ed Alegre, Jr. (@edgardoalegre) March 15, 2021
Some would even revive Roque’s old quote of “nanalo tayo” after supposedly beating the predictions of OCTA Research last year.
Dang, Harry Roque trending already? pic.twitter.com/ZtOtDnwM86
— Galo Aquino (@galo_aquino) March 15, 2021
https://twitter.com/beyondsofiee/status/1371351925132697600
Another netizen corrected Roque for supposedly saying we should “celebrate” one year of being on lockdown.
We should 'mark' not 'celebrate' the anniversary of the pandemic lockdown in the Philippines. Nice try, Harry Roque, nice try.
— The Professional Heckler (@hecklerforever8) March 15, 2021
Others even compared Roque’s condition to that of another Harry: Harry Styles.
harry styles winning his first grammy and harry roque tested positive for covid
— BEST THING THAT HAPPENED IN THE WORLD (@pwetnipayno) March 15, 2021
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).
https://twitter.com/joseph_morong/status/1371340597135511553
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 says he 'can't discount' virus variants as one of the reasons for COVID-19 spike.
At the start of briefing, he said he didn't want to blame virus variants because he is not an expert. | via @piaranada
— Rappler (@rapplerdotcom) March 15, 2021
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.
