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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

https://twitter.com/ayengrr/status/1374960714520006664

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.

https://twitter.com/teddyboylocsin/status/1327247648563240961

While Roque is busy blaming another man to put the country on his shoulders, the Philippines is yet to flatten the curve.