MANILA, Philippines — Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque hit out a group of doctors appealing for a reconsideration of the government’s decision to relax quarantine curbs in Metro Manila.
In videos obtained by the Inquirer from a source, Roque is seen flaring up during a meeting of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
“Thinking about economic ramifications, thinking about people who will go hungry does not mean we care any less… This group, they have never said anything good about government response,” the Palace official said with a raised voice.
“We’re trying to achieve total health. Who wants COVID to kill people? Are you saying that only medical frontliners are concerned about the health of the people?”
“We all want to save lives, for crying out loud. No one in government wants a single life lost! No one! How dare you think that we are not considering steps to prevent the loss of lives?” he further said.
READ: Roque berates docs opposing GCQ during Zoom meet
The meeting took place shortly before Roque’s announcement on Tuesday night that the government had deferred its decision to pilot granular lockdowns and ease Metro Manila’s lockdown status to a less stringent general community quarantine.
READ: NCR stays under MECQ until Sept. 15; pilot granular lockdown deferred
INQUIRER.net has reached out to Roque for comment on this matter but has yet to receive a response as of writing.