Harry Roque clarifies Duque’s COVID-19 2nd wave statement, apologizes

Harry Roque has this recent statement about COVID-19

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque clarified the statement of Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III that the Philippines is already experiencing the second wave of COVID-19.

On Wednesday, the Health Secretary stated this during the Senate hearing on COVID-19 response of the government. However, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea contradicted the statement of Duque in an interview later that day.

Medialde stressed out that the pronouncement did not come from President Rodrigo Duterte. ““Alam mo hindi pronouncement yan ng Presidente yan or ano. Kailan ba lumabas yang second wave? That we will have to see. Because as far as I know, wala pa tayo sa second wave,” he said. Even Senator Bong Go also shared the same thought when asked about this.

On Thursday, another official refuted the statement of the DOH head. During a press briefing, Harry Roque corrected Francisco Duque as he reiterated that the country is still experiencing the first wave of the new coronavirus.

Based on the Twitter post of DZMM Teleradyo, the Presidential Spokesperson admitted that the announcement of Duque regarding the “COVID-19’s second wave” did not undergo their protocol.

With this, he expressed his apology to the public for the confusion that the announcement created. However, on the issue that the officials of the government do not synchronize with their statements, Roque said that the Health Secretary simply offered a “different interpretation” of data.

The Spokesperson added that the number of cases recorded in January is too low to be considered as the first wave of COVID-19 in the Philippines.

He also said during the press briefing, “medyo sintunado lang po siguro ang isa pero okay naman po ang orchestra.“

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