Roque wrongly tells Duterte that Leni pushing to star with him in vaccine ad

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque made an erroneous claim on Wednesday night’s Cabinet briefing when he told President Rodrigo Duterte that Vice President Leni Robredo wanted to do an infomercial with him to encourage Filipinos to get COVID-19 vaccines.

“Ngayong napakita natin na marami nang nagpapabakuna eh bigla namang nag-volunteer, gusto raw nyang umappear sa infomercial kasama kayo. Sa loob loob ko matapos tayong siraan nang siraan, ngayong nagiging matagumpay ang vaccination eh makikisama ngayon,” Roque said.

“’Yan po ay desisyon ninyo. Ang sabi po ng ating bise president eh nais nya kayong makasama sa infomercial para sa vaccine confidence.  Sabi po natin ay pag-aaralan ninyo kung anong kontribusyon na maibibigay  ng ating bise presidente dahil alam naman natin na isa s'ya sa pinakamaingay na kritiko sa lahat ng ating ginawa,” he added.

Duterte did not respond to Roque’s statement.

However, it was not Robredo who broached the idea of an infomercial with Duterte, but Senator Joel Villanueva.

On May 20, Villanueva issued a statement suggesting the production of an infomercial featuring the country’s top two executives in an effort to entice Filipinos to get the jabs.

“Ang isang mungkahi po natin, maglabas ng isang joint public service announcement ang Pangulo at ang Bise Pangulo. This is the kind of ad that will be effective in convincing a large part of our population that vaccines are safe,” Villanueva had said in his statement.

He added, “Ito po ang tambalang nakikita nating mabisa na pangontra sa mga fake news. Both are vaccine recipients, and are living proof that vaccines do no harm.”

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III supported the idea.

“Maganda ‘yun kasi siyempre sa kalusugan, sa bakunahan, wala namang puli-pulitika diyan. Wala dapat mga parti-partido diyan, walang administrasyon, walang oposisyon… Dapat unifying ang ating objective,” he said in a radio interview on May 21.

Asked to react, Robredo’s spokesperson, Barry Gutierrez, told a radio interview on May 21 that the Vice President is open to suggestions to boost public confidence on the vaccines.

"Kung may magri-reach out sa kanya at magsasama sila ni Pangulong Duterte para magkaroon ng infomercial para lalong ma-enganyo ang ating mga kababayan na magpabakuna sa lalong madaling panahon, eh bukas ho siya d’yan," Gutierrez had said.

On Wednesday’s Cabinet briefing, Roque lamented that critics never run out of brickbats against the administration.

“Ang ating kritiko, hindi nauubos talaga ang pagpupula,” he said.

“Nung hindi pa dumadating ang bakuna sabi nila nasaan ang bakuna. Nung dumating ang bakuna, sabi nila bakit Chinese. Nung dumating ang ibang brand sabi nila bakit hindi pwedeng makapili. Wala po talagang katapusan ‘yan,” he added.

Roque also announced that Duterte will come out in an infomercial to urge the public to get the doses that will protect them against the vaccines.  He said the same team that did the Health department’s “Mask, Hugas, Iwas” is preparing the infomercial featuring the President.—LDF,GMA News