Presidential spokesman Harry Roque enjoined the public Sunday to support the country's bet to the Miss Universe pageant, Miss Universe Philippines 2020 Rabiya Mateo.
(YANCY LIM / PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
In a Facebook post, Roque, who served as one of the 10 judges in the competition, posted photos on his Facebook page, saying picking the country's bet for the Miss Universe title was one of the toughest jobs he ever took on.
"Naku, isa sa mga pinakamahirap na trabaho na tinanggap ko (This is one of the most difficult jobs I ever accepted)," he wrote on his Facebook post during the pageant's delayed telecast Sunday morning.
"Suportahan natin ang ating kinatawan sa Miss Universe (Let's support our representative for the Miss Universe pageant)," he added.
Roque likewise joked about possible memes that may spring out after his judging stint. The Palace official said Saturday in a Facebook update that he will post something on Sunday morning but hoped netizens will not use them to make new memes.
"Mangyaring tuparin ninyo ang pangako na hindi gumawa ng mga meme sa aking mga larawan (I hope you will stick to your promise to not use my photos to make new memes)," he jested.
He has also been using the hashtag "#KalmaAkoLangIto" (Relax, it's just me) in some of his posts.
This was not the first time that Roque acknowledged his memes. Early this month, the former lawmaker joined netizens in posting memes about his recent trip to the island beach of Boracay.
In an interview with State-run PTV-4, Roque said he was not offended by the surge of memes using photos. Instead, he said he was happy about it.
"Sa panahon ng pandemiya eh natutuwa ako na kahit papano meron tayong kontribusyon para maaliw ang ating mga kababayan (I am glad that I am able to contribute to making people happy at this time of a pandemic)," he said.
"Kailangan po talaga natin na magkaroon ng konting aliw dahil alam niyo naman ang mensahe ng Presidente, bagamat nandiyan ang COVID-19 kaya po natin mabuhay (We really need to find a source of happiness during these times because like what the President said, we need to live even when there is COVID-19)," he added.