Roque to tell Duterte that Thinking Pinoy wants him out as spokesperson

Secretary Harry Roque on Tuesday said that he would inform President Rodrigo Duterte that one of his diehard supporters didn't believe that he was fit to speak in behalf of the Chief Executive.

At a briefing in Malacañang, Roque made it clear that all Cabinet members serve at the pleasure of the President.

“What I will do is I will facilitate receipt of this information by the President. I will tell the President that Mr. Nieto has said that I should be removed. I will relay that to the President,” Roque said.

Roque is referring to Thinking Pinoy’s RJ Nieto who said in his Facebook post that the appointment of the former Kabayan party-list representative was a mistake.

The presidential spokesperson said that questions about his appointment should be addressed to the Duterte.

“Paki-share at nang makarating kay Pangulo. Dapat yang masibak before he causes further damage,” Nieto even wrote in the comments section of his post on Monday.

Nieto’s statement came after Roque said he wanted to teach Communications Asec. Mocha Uson the virtues of mainstream media and its constitutional freedoms.

Nieto was recently criticized for saying Roque should throw a hollow block at Rappler reporter Pia Ranada over the radio.

Although Roque asked Duterte supporters not to throw anything at legitimate journalists, he recently said that Nieto did not incite anyone to physically harm.

“The figurative statement in question was made in jest and must not be taken seriously. Let us not make a mountain out of a molehill,” Roque said in a Facebook post on Monday night.

GMA News Online has messaged Nieto through Facebook for his comment.

Freedom of expression

Roque also defended freedom of expression in a statement on Tuesday amid Duterte supporters’ criticisms against him. He enumerated the many times he defended bloggers and journalists alike.

“Free expression rests on this assumption: that we can all engage in a deliberative and rational discourse, to arrive at a moment of solidarity, or at least, of understanding, the conflicting views notwithstanding,” he said.

“That applies to both journalists and social media activists,” he added.

Uson in her own statement said that the mainstream media should respect the opinions of netizens, particulary the DDS or “diehard Duterte supporters.”

“As the President’s spokesperson, my job is to get all of us into a national conversation, when we can all get out of our social media bubbles or privileged positions, so we can really get down to the difficult but rewarding business of being a country that is humane, just, and progressive,” Roque said. —NB, GMA News