Earlier this Thursday, March 25, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque went on a tirade against 2016 presidential candidate Mar Roxas.
Roque, while stressing that Duterte was the leader that the Philippines needs, expressed that he cannot imagine the nation being led by Roxas since the former DILG Secretary has no capabilities to address the challenges that the country is currently dealing with.
“I think [President Duterte] is the president that we need right now. Can you really imagine Roxas leading this country amidst the many trials we have had? From COVID-19 pandemic to China,” asked Roque during an interview with TV5’s “Deretsahan.”
“Hindi ko maisip kung Mar Roxas became president, knowing ‘yung mga track record niya sa mga pagsusubok sa Yolanda tsaka doon sa Mamasapano,” he added.
Contrary to what Roque initially said in the interview, several celebrities, personalities, and netizens have disagreed with the spokesperson’s statement.
Singer Leah Navarro disagreed with Roque by saying that she can imagine Roxas being a president. With Roxas moving forward after the mishaps from the Yolanda incident, Navarro said that Roxas made the NDRRMC more effective.
Yes, I can imagine a better Philippines if Mar Roxas was president. The lessons from Yolanda were well learned, he made the NDRRMC very effective moving forward. Roxas had no part in Mamasapano. His management skills are sorely needed now. #DutertePalpak has zero. https://t.co/ne8h0Edidn
— Leah Navarro (@leahnavarro) March 25, 2021
Former Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda likewise agreed with Navarro if, in a parallel world, Roxas was leading the country. Lacierda castigates Roque in his greed for power. Lacierda claimed that Roque tried to butter his way up in the Aquino administration, which he also did with the Duterte administration, in which Roque was successful in the current admin.
I can imagine a Roxas presidency. I can also imagine you worming yourself in as much as you tried to worm yourself into the Aquino presidency. Funny that you now praise Pres. Duterte after lambasting him while campaigning for Binay in 2010.
Ang baboy mo magsalita! https://t.co/JpfuGT5UUh
— Edwin Lacierda (@dawende) March 25, 2021
Quezon City Rep. Kit Belmonte also agreed with Lacierda on how Roque’s double face would riddle the Roxas administration. Belmonte wrote that the Secretary would still be pretending to care about human rights violations and the rule of law if Roxas was the president.
https://twitter.com/AttyKitBelmonte/status/1374966624147546114
Twitter personality Kristoffer Pasion disregards the thought of Roque since Roxas is not the current leader. Pasion stressed that the fact that the Philippines is currently at the bottom in terms of pandemic response describes the present administration’s incompetence.
Di ko maimagine kasi hindi naman siya ang nakaupo. Mahirap kasi mag imagine pag ang taumbayan ay pinapapiling magutom o mahawa sa COVID. Luxury ang mag imagine.
Ang realidad, KAYO ang nakaupo, at nandito na nga tayo ngayon, kulelat sa buong mundo.
— Kristoffer Pasion (@indiohistorian) March 25, 2021
Philip Templo Jr., a Twitter personality pointed out the flaw of Roque’s argument—hypothetical. Templo also insisted that the Duterte government is currently in power—the one to blame for over a year of lockdown.
It does not matter because it is just hypothetical by NOW. It is nearly five years NOW and this governance is the 'reality' NOW. It is also a reality that this country cannot move out of the lockdown for more than one year NOW. ☝
— Phillip Templo Jr. (@thejourneymate) March 25, 2021
A netizen also defended Mar Roxas as a better leader at this time of crisis. According to the tweet, Roxas, who worked in the U.S. have established connections among the country’s influential people. With the relationship that Roxas has built, it would be easier for the Philippines to acquire vaccines.
https://twitter.com/benjSESF/status/1374897362380992518
A netizen even blasted Roque for trying to cover the incompetence of the Duterte administration. As of this moment, the number of positive cases in the Philippines has not decreased, with over 6,658 new cases recorded this Thursday.
Ano track record ng amo mo sa West Philippine Sea? Sa Marawi? Eh yung drugs ba? Yung corruption? Ano track record niya sa ekonomiya? Ano track record niya sa pandemya? Di ba kulelat pa din tayo sa Southeast Asia?
Di mo na matatago na palpak ang admin na to. Ulol mo!
— TiggerTrigger (@tigergimenez) March 25, 2021
Another netizen ridiculed Roque for how quick he was to turn a new leaf. From being an anti-Duterte to becoming his Spokesperson, the netizen lambasted Roque for his double-standard antiques. With all the financial benefits Roque is receiving, the economy of the Philippines continues to plunge.
https://twitter.com/ness_fajardo/status/1374882830090559489
Meanwhile, a netizen contradicted that neither Duterte nor Roxas was the choice of the masses to elect as president. In fact, it was the late Miriam Defensor Santiago who was the obvious choice during the 2016 elections.
Bitch sino ba may sabi na gusto naming maging president si Roxas? Defensor Santiago was the best candidate for presidency but a lot of Filipinos laughed at her thinking that she was too crazy and can never lead a country because she's a woman. https://t.co/ZQ6YbXgj9R
— z (@arrsixteen) March 25, 2021
Opposing the accusations thrown by Roque at Roxas, Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teddy Locsin Jr. has tweeted in 2020 that Roxas was being applauded by the intergovernmental organization United Nations for his rescue and relief efforts during typhoon Yolanda’s onslaught.
In the UN I was told that Mar Roxas’s rescue and relief efforts were sterling, the best the world had seen. I said, “Thanks a lot for this belated assessment. He lost the election on the lie that he fucked up in Yolanda. You people at the UN are as usual too late the heroes.” https://t.co/rLI2RTyAeS
— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) November 13, 2020
While Roque is busy blaming another man to put the country on his shoulders, the Philippines is yet to flatten the curve.
