The minority leader of the House of Representatives on Thursday urged Malacañang to censure Presidential spokesman Harry Roque for “uttering insensitive and arrogant” statements.
“We are in the midst of a pandemic and the least that we can expect from our government’s statement to the sentiments of the people is compassion,” said House Minority Leader Joseph Stephen “Caraps” Paduano.
In justifying the decision to procure Covid-19 vaccines from China, Roque said the Filipinos cannot be picky with the brand of vaccine that will be given them through the government’s inoculation program.
“The remarks of Roque reeks of insensitivity and arrogrance,” Paduano said.
“Gaano ba kahirap magpakita ng simpatya sa panahong ito? The least we can expect from him is to show remorse, and yet, none is coming,” the Abang Lingkod lawmaker lamented.
Citing Section 4, Paragraph C of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees (RA 6713), which states that “public officials and employees must act with justness and sincerity and shall not discriminate against anyone, especially the poor and the underprivileged,” Paduano said, adding that “resorting to ad hominems directed at our constituents clamoring for better public service may be considered a violation of our oath of office.”
At the end of the day, he said it is the Food and Drug Administration that will determine the right vaccines that should be made available to Filipinos, not Roque.
Earlier, Roque said Filipinos who refuse to be part of the first batch of beneficiaries of the government’s vaccination drive for Covid-19 may no longer be prioritized for the said program.
“They should not be picky because there are so many Filipinos, who need to be injected [with the vaccine],” Roque said.
The government earlier announced 35 million people will be included in its “priority list” for the vaccination program.
These will include frontline health workers, senior citizens, indigent population, and government uniformed personnel.