Roque insists no breach of health rules during recent out-of-town events

MANILA, Philippines — The now COVID-positive presidential spokesperson Harry Roque on Friday maintained that he did not violate any health protocol during his recent out-of-town activities.

According to Roque, he complied with all health guidelines like undergoing reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests prior to attending events on the government’s vaccination program in Cebu, Davao, and Ilocos Norte.

His explanation comes after Senator Panfilo Lacson said Roque and Philippine National Police chief Debold Sinas should be sanctioned if an investigation shows they violated health protocols.

“Eh sa akin po, kung may parusa po, sige po pero wala po akong linabag,” said Roque, who recently tested positive for new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes the highly contagious and potentially deadly respiratory illness COVID-19.

“Lahat po ‘yan ay para sa rollout ng vaccination program natin at sumunod po tayo sa lahat ng health protocols. Meron po tayong PCR test at dumaan po tayo sa triage sa lahat ng lugar na pinaggalingan natin,” he also said.

(All of those events are for the vaccination program’s rollout and we followed all health protocols. We have a PCR test and we underwent triage in areas we visited.)

“So kung meron pong paglabag, dapat meron pong parusa; pero kung wala pong paglabag, syempre walang parusa,” he added.

(If there is a violation, there must be a sanction; but if there is no violation, there is no punishment.)

Roque previously drew criticism for allegedly violating health protocols when he attended an event in Bantayan Island, Cebu, and delivering a speech before a crowd that allegedly did not observe physical distancing.

He likewise earned flak for visiting Subic Bay despite existing COVID-19 restrictions.