Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque has again caught the ire of the netizens and celebrities over his insensitive remark about the country’s unemployment rate.
In a tweet, ABS-CBN journalist Jeff Canoy scored Roque for saying he’s happy that we did not register 100% unemployment despite the pandemic.
“Buti pa siya, nagagalak.”
Buti pa siya, nagagalak. https://t.co/iPdGyIEIW4
— Jeff Canoy (@jeffcanoy) August 17, 2020
ABS-CBN journalist and anchor Karen Davila meanwhile was curious if Roque really uttered the word “nagagalak”.
“Did Sec Roque really use the word ‘nagagalak’?”
Did Sec Roque really use the word “nagagalak”? https://t.co/D2w2huge6p
— Karen Davila (@iamkarendavila) August 17, 2020
Roque’s in the hot seat once again after issuing an inconsiderate statement regarding the SWS survey on adult joblessness.
In the survey, SWS found out that 45.5% of Filipino have lost their jobs as of July 2020, a record high number beating March’s result of 34.4%.
According to the Dept. of Labor, the declaration of modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) and ABS-CBN’s workforce retrenchment due to the denial of their franchise added to the numbers.
The Labor Dept. reported 157,000 number of displaced workers from August 2 to August 9, 2020, an increase of 15,042 from 141,958 from the previous week. It was the first time that unemployment breached 15k mark according to DOLE.
In response, Roque said he was delighted that the unemployment rate only reaches 45% and not 100% despite the country facing the COVID-19 crisis.
“Ako po’y nagagalak na hindi tayo 100% nawalan ng trabaho kasi sa tagal po na nakalockdown tayo, I’m still surprised at our resilience, at 45 % pa lang po ang nawawalan ng trabaho,” said Roque.
This was not the first time that Roque made a deplorable statement.
In June, Roque was also highly criticized for his celebratory tone in declaring that we are winning against COVID-19 even stretching to saying that the government has beaten UP’s prediction.
WATCH: A cheerful Harry Roque said that the Philippines is winning the fight vs #COVID19 after "beating" UP's prediction that the country will reach 40,000 cases by the end of June.
As of June 29, PH has 36,438 coronavirus cases, including 1,255 deaths and 9,956 recoveries. pic.twitter.com/sDkQZSf2Yh
— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) June 30, 2020
With a raised fist and joyful tone during the Malacanang press briefing, Roque ecstatically announced that the gov’t beat UP’s number.
“Today is the last day na pala! Ano bang sinasabi ko? Wala na po, panalo na pala tayo! (What was I saying? Disregard that. We already won!) We beat the UP prediction po! We beat it! Congratulations, Philippines!” the presidential spokesperson triumphantly said.
Meanwhile, here are other reactions from celebrities regarding Roques latest insensitive statement.
He really likes making headlines, no? https://t.co/GYAPGX7m8c
— Gretchen (@gretchenho) August 17, 2020
https://twitter.com/kevinmanalo_/status/1295231659134955520
https://twitter.com/enchongdee777/status/1295228012061892609
Nakakagalak yun halos kalahati ng mga Pilipino ay walang trabaho?
Ibig sabihin nito ay milyun-milyong pamilya ang nawalan ng kabuhayan at malamang ay kulang ang pangkain.
Nakakagalak ba yun? https://t.co/Dpbnl1ZBJU
— Barnaby Lo 吳宗鴻 (@barnabychuck) August 17, 2020
https://twitter.com/JULESguiang/status/1295202786288627712
Roque, this 45% still have families to feed! We aren’t just numbers that you can convert to Filipino resilience. No amount of PR spin is going to erase the fact that the government is incompetent in handling the health crisis. https://t.co/fG4095SYrL
— Nick Villavecer (@nickvillavecer) August 17, 2020
Haaaay kawawang mga pilipino! https://t.co/6VWdgrCSFr
— jason abalos (@thejasonabalos) August 17, 2020
