Roque welcomes complaints for his alleged health rules violations

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque on Tuesday, September 7, dismissed as politicking the case filed against him before the Office of the Ombudsman for supposed violations of COVID-19 protocols.

The Palace official welcomed the case, saying it is a chance for him to show that he didn’t breach any protocol.

“Lahat po nang ginawa ko sang-ayon sa (Everything I did was according to the) prevailing quarantine qualifications,” he said of his trips to Subic, Boracay, and Cebu.

“Magsampa na po kayo ng ibang reklamo dahil madidismiss lang iyan. Tapos na nga po ‘yung imbestigasyon sa Bantayan. Meron ng report po diyan (File a complaint because that will be dismissed anyway. The investigation in Bantayan is already over. There’s a report about it),” Roque said in his virtual presser.

“Anyway, we welcome that po para naman may saysay ‘yun may gustong manggulo ng gobyerno (Anyway, we welcome that so that those who want to cause trouble in the government are not useless),” he added.

Pinoy Aksyon, a watchdog group, filed seven complaints against government officials for breaching COVID-19 health protocols. Aside from Roque, other respondents in the case are Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Debold Sinas, San Juan Mayor Francis Zamora, and San Juan Rep. Ronaldo Zamora.

READ: Group charges Roque, Puyat, Sinas, others before Ombudsman for ‘quarantine breach’

The case against Roque is for “violating” quarantine restrictions when he visited Subic in July 2020 and Boracay in February 2021, and when he conducted a public meeting without observing social distancing protocols in Cebu in November 2020.

The Palace official became the center of internet memes for his trips to Cebu and Boracay where he even took diving lessons amid the pandemic.

The group said it is time to hold public officials accountable for flaunting their power “beyond the rule of law” while the rest of the citizens get jailed when they do not follow health protocols.

Under various and changing quarantine classifications over the past year, the government prohibited the movement of people beyond their residents and respective municipalities.