Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said he will focus on his role as Malacañang's spokesperson before deciding if he should run in the 2022 elections.

Roque made the statement after a supposed initial list of President Duterte's choices for his senatorial lineup included his name.

In his press briefing on Wednesday, July 21, Roque said he was thankful for PDP-Laban for its confidence in him but said he would rather focus first on the matter at hand.

"Sa ngayon po nakatutok tayo sa ating katungkulan (For now, we are focused on our job as the spokesperson)," he said.

"Tayo po ay bumalik bilang spokesperson sa panahon ng pandemya dahil naniniwala tayo na kinakailangan ng paktwal at accurate ang mga information ng taumbayan sa panahon ng pandemya (We returned as spokesperson during the pandemic because we believe that the public needed factual and accurate information in times like this)," he added.

According to Roque, he was busy attending all symbolic vaccinations to help boost coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine confidence.

He said he will start thinking about his 2022 plans once the country achieves population protection or has completed vaccinating members of the population who are susceptible to COVID-19 and are likely to show severe symptoms.

"Siguro po 'pag nakamit na natin yung tinatawag na population protection, yun po ang panahon para magdesisyon kung ano ang magiging plano natin sa politika (Perhaps when we achieve population protection, that will be the time to decide on our political plans)," Roque said.

Aside from being the presidential spokesman, Roque was also named spokesman of the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

He first became President Duterte’s spokesman in October 2017 until he resigned the following year to run for Senate in 2019 despite Duterte saying he will not win.

However, in February 2019, Roque had to withdraw from the senatorial race after undergoing what he described as a “percutaneous coronary intervention following the discovery of an unstable angina coronary disease.”

Roque said last month that he would have to have a serious talk with his doctors about his health before he decides if he will run in the 2022 elections because he did not want another “heartbreak.”

He added that he was still praying for guidance if he should attempt another senate run next year.