MANILA, Philippines — Hindi nagdalawang-isip si Pangulong Duterte na hayaan na mag-resign si Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque ng magsabi ito sa kanya bago ang Cabinet meeting noong Lunes na magbibitiw ito sa puwesto.
Ang sabi niya (Roque), mag-resign siya. Sabi ko ‘di sige. Then immediately I --- namili na kaagad ako ng replacement,” wika ng Pangulo.
Ikinatwiran umano ni Roque na isa sa dahilan daw sa kanyang pagbibitiw ay hindi siya nasabihan ng magpa-ospital ito.
“Kasi sabi niya mag-resign siya because he didn’t know that I was in the hospital. So he was not informed. Hindi naman kailangan sabihin ko lahat eh. There are things which are limited to the immediate members of the family. And of course if there is something wrong, then I would communicate with the Cabinet members...But the fact of the matter is that he did not ask us. And maybe at that time, I was not in a position to tell him also,” dagdag ng Pangulo.
Itinalagang kapalit ni Roque si Chief Presidential Legal Sec. Salvador Panelo habang mananatili pa rin si Sec. Martin Andanar bilang consultant sa Office of the Press Secretary (OPS).
Kabilang si Roque sa mga posibleng tumakbong senador sa 2019 mid-term elections kasama sina Presidential Political Adviser Francis Tolentino at Special Assistant to the President Bong Go habang tatakbo naman sa local posts sina Secretary to the Cabinet Leoncio Evasco (Bohol), TESDA director-general Gene Mamondiong (Lanao) at DFA Sec. Alan Peter Cayetano (Taguig).