Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque asked the public to trust the government in its decisions regarding the fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, saying it will not endanger anyone's lives.
Roque made the statement after business sectors and Metro Manila mayors pushed for a hard lockdown amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases and with the local transmission of the dreaded Delta variant.
In his press briefing on Thursday, July 29, Roque said urged the public to not listen to a "self-proclaimed" group of experts that he did not identify and, instead, have faith in the government.
"Sa panahon po ng pandemya, talaga namang hindi pupwedeng kahit sinong magsasasbi na alam nila ang tunay na anyo ng COVID-19 (At this time of a pandemic, we cannot allow just anybody to say that they know the true form of COVID-19)," he said.
"Hinihingi lang po natin, kaunting tiwala. Wala naman pong rekomendasyon na gagawin na alam nila ay makakasama sa atin (We ask for a little faith. The government will not make any recommendation that will put us in danger)," he added.
"Kaunting tiwala lang po. Kapit-bisig (Have some faith. Let's work together), we will rise from this pandemic as one," he continued.
Roque lamented how hard it was to work for the government.
"Malaking karangalan po sa kahit sinong Pilipino na matanggap para magtrabaho sa gobyerno (It's a great honor for every Filipino to work for the government)," he said.
"Hindi po madaling magtrabaho sa gobyerno. Kinakailangan may napatunayan nang kakayahan, kinakailangan manumpa na gagawin nila ang katungkulan sang-ayon sa batas at Saligang Batas (It's not easy working in the government. You need to have proven your abilities and take an oath to do your duties according to the law and the Constitution)," he added.
Roque was first appointed as presidential spokesman in October 2017 but resigned the following year to run for Senate. He was brought back in April 2020 in an attempt to clearly communicate the government's COVID-19 efforts to the public.