Unjustifiable. Insensitive.
This was how Senator Risa Hontiveros on Thursday described presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, Jr.’s statements when he said that workers have been vacationing for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
(Senate of the Philippines / FILE PHOTO)
Hontiveros said it is unacceptable that the Malacañang official callously disregarded Filipino workers who bore the brunt of the stringent lockdowns and COVID-19 protocols and eventually were unable to go to work.
“This is not a matter of taking fewer vacation days. This is about Filipino workers, who would still choose to go to work, losing the opportunity to earn more due to adjusted holidays,” Hontiveros said in a statement.
“To say that Filipinos have been ‘on vacation for a year’ is unjustifiable and insensitive. Many lost their jobs, were forced to close businesses, some even fell ill and died because of COVID-19,” the senator added.
Roque has earned flak after he defended President Duterte’s decision to declare All Souls’ Day (Nov. 2), Christmas Eve (Dec. 24) and New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31) as special working holidays.
Hontiveros had called on the Palace to reconsider its decision as the move threatens to cut the take-home pay of thousands of workers.
According to Roque, “Filipinos have been on an extended vacation for a year now.”
In a virtual presser on Tuesday, Roque clarified that his remark was taken out of context. He parried criticisms he was insensitive to the plight of those who were rendered jobless during the pandemic.
“This may just be the most tiring and painful ‘vacation’ of all our lives. As someone who speaks for the President, the Filipino people expect no less than professionalism and integrity from Secretary Harry Roque,” Hontiveros said.
“I hope he will stop making his theme song, ‘Insensitive’,” she said.