President spokesman Harry Roque apologized on Friday for his sudden outburst against medical experts during a meeting by the government's COVID-19 response task force.
In a press briefing, Roque said he got "emotional" after hearing the proposal of Dr. Maricar Limpin, president of the Philippine College of Physicians, and Dr. Antonio Dans, convenor of the Healthcare Professionals Alliance Against COVID-19, to impose a two-week hard lockdown.
“Unang-una po, kinukumpirma ko po na tayo ay naging emosyonal, at pasensya naman po kayo tao lamang, doon sa rekomendasyon ng dalawang doctor na mag-impose ng hard ECQ lockdown," he said.
"That’s the first time that I lost my bearing in an IATF [Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases] meeting, but as I said I may apologize and I have in fact apologized for the manner but never for the message," he added.
According to Roque, he only spoke on behalf of those who were experiencing hunger due to government-imposed lockdowns in response to the public health crisis.
“Nagalit po talaga ako dahil sa tingin ko panahon na po na marinig ang inyong boses ng IATF. Tama na po ang lockdown, magtatagal po talaga ang COVID hindi lang sa Pilipinas kundi sa buong daigdig,” he said.
“Importante rin naman po na mapakinggan ‘yung damdamin ng maliliit na tao natin kababayan na nagugutom na po sa parating pag-lockdown,” he added.
Roque emphasized that the government has been doing its best to ramp up its vaccination efforts so that it can reopen the economy.
In a video posted by Philippine Daily Inquirer, which has now gone viral, Roque was seen scolding and castigating doctors during the meeting.
“Do not sit there as if you are the only ones right. We’re trying to achieve total health. Who wants COVID to kill people? Are you saying that only medical frontliners are concerned about the health of the people? We all want to save lives," Roque stated as seen in the video.
“We’re crying out loud. No one in the government wants a single life lost. No one! How dare you think that we are not considering steps to prevent the loss of lives?” he added.
It was reported that during the meeting Dr. Limpin pleaded with IATF to impose hard lockdown as she laid down the consequences once the government lifts quarantine protocols in NCR.
