The apology of presidential spokesperson Harry Roque for his recent outburst against medical experts was not sincere, the president of Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) said on Saturday, Sept. 11.
"Unfortunately, hindi ko po naramdaman 'yung sincerity ng kanyang apology. Ang apology should not be directed to me or yung kasama ko... dapat po sa buong health force kasi kami po ay nandoon as representative of the healthcare workforce (Unfortunately, I did not feel the sincerity of his apology. The apology should not be directed to me or those with me ... it should be to the entire health force because we are there as a representative of the healthcare workforce)," PCP President Dr. Maricar Limpin said in an interview on DZBB interview.
"Dapat po bago kayo magsalita, get your facts straight kasi may mga binanggit po kayo na hindi related (Before you speak, get your facts straight because you mentioned some that are not related)," she added.
In a leaked video circulating on social media, Roque lashed out at Limpin during the meeting of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) earlier this week for opposing the government's plan to shift Metro Manila to general community quarantine (GCQ) as hospitals are still overwhelmed with coronavirus patients.
On Friday, the presidential spokesperson apologized for his outburst, saying he was only human who got emotional.
Limpin then advised Roque to be more conscious of his actions as he is representing the President.
"So para sa isang presidential spokesperson, importante po na based sa facts, hindi lang based sa impressions. Sana maging conscious po kayo sa actions niyo. You are representing the President (So as a presidential spokesperson, it is important to be based on facts, not just based on impressions. I hope you will be conscious of your actions. You are representing the President)," she said.
In a separate DZMM Teleradyo interview, Limpin said Roque should resign voluntarily.
"Sa akin po personally, this is a personal position. I don't think that it is up to me or to anyone of us na sabihan siya na mag-resign. Siguro kung mag resign siya, should do it voluntarily (For me personally, this is a personal position. I don't think that it is up to me or any of us to tell him to resign. Maybe if he resigns, he should do it voluntarily)," she said, adding Roque's actions are a great disservice to the President.
Limpin, meanwhile, assured that the healthcare workforce will continue working with the government.
"Hindi naman ho kami magpapapigil doon sa aming dapat na gawin, lalong lalo na sa pagpapaabot po sa ating pamahalaan, sa Department of Health ng kung ano po 'yung mga possible recommendations po (We will not stop what we have to do, especially by informing our government, the Department of Health of what the possible recommendations are)," she told DZBB.