Roque on resignation calls: Only the President can fire me

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque on Monday brushed aside calls for him to resign stemming from his outburst against medical doctors during a meeting of the government's COVID-19 response task force.

“Unfortunately, only the President can fire me,” Roque said in a press briefing.

The calls stemmed from Roque berating Dr. Maricar Limpin, president of the Philippine College of Physicians, during a pandemic task force meeting last week. Footage of the incident was leaked on social media.

During the meeting, Limpin pleaded to the government to maintain the tight restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic so that the healthcare system will not be overwhelmed.

Roque disagreed with the proposal, noting the impact such restrictions have already done to the economy. He accused Limpin and her group of always criticizing the administrations actions related to the pandemic.

Vice President Leni Robredo has said that Roque has no right to react that way to health workers who have been manning the frontlines amid the pandemic, even if he does not agree with their suggestion.

Groups of health workers have called on Roque and Health Secretary Francisco Duque III to resign given Roque’s comments and the lingering delay on the delay of the health workers’ benefits amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Roque, however, was just as dismissive on calls for Duque to resign.

“Only the President can fire Secretary Duque,” he said. —KBK, GMA News