COVID-stricken Roque isolating in two-star hotel in San Juan
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque has belied reports that he was isolating in a seven-star presidential suite in Pasay City after testing positive for the coronavirus disease earlier this week.
During a virtual press briefing Thursday, March 18, the Palace official said he was staying at an isolation facility in San Juan City.
“That’s fake news po. I’m in San Juan along Annapolis Street,” he told reporters when asked about the issue.
While the government has accredited quarantine facilities for mild and asymptomatic COVID-19 patients, Roque said he doubted the government has “the means to pay for that hotel,” referring to the photos of a presidential suite in a hotel in Pasay City where some said he was staying.
Rumors that Roque was supposedly staying at a posh hotel for his isolation has spread on the internet, but the spokesman was quick to clarify the issue.
“Masyado engrande po iyan, 7-star hotel po ‘yan. Ang alam ko po 2 to 3-star hotels lang po ang kinukuha natin, including motels (That is too grand. That’s a seven-star hotel. What I know is that we only have two- to three-star hotels, including motels),” he said.
“Hindi naman po ako na-motel. 2-star hotel naman po (I am not in a motel. It’s a two-star hotel),” Roque clarified with a hearty laugh.
The spokesman explained that the facilities for mild and asymptomatic patients were different from the hotels used for the quarantine of returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
Roque has been in the isolation facility since he tested positive for COVID-19.
Because he remained asymptomatic, Roque said he wanted to ask his doctor if it would be better for him to quarantine at home because everyone in the facility, which he said was already full capacity, has symptoms.
“So, I and conferring with my doctor if I’m better off staying here or if I should go home,” he said.
The Palace official earlier graded as “excellent” the government’s COVID-19 response, even comparing the country’s number of cases and deaths against wealthier and more developed nations. A few days after, he tested positive for the virus that has so far killed more than 12,000 Filipinos.