It has been common on social media to say that tone deaf government stunts and statements are meant to distract us from the bigger issues like the government’s pandemic response and the continued attacks on and killings of activists, rights defenders and lawyers.
The idea, they say, is to diffuse people’s anger and leave them exhausted. From how tired we all are, the tactic, if it is one, seems to have worked.
But that doesn’t mean government officials’ antics should be ignored entirely.
It is probably true, for example, that presidential spokesperson Harry Roque’s main role is to be a lightning rod for this administration.
Certainly, he has become the face of the administration’s pandemic response as much as Health Secretary Francisco Duque III has. He is also the face of the pig-headed defense of that response.
It is also probably true that he does not know what he is talking about most of the time. As much as being factually incorrect, he often makes guesses about how the president feels and what the president actually means.
READ: The Public Rotting of Harry Roque
I am unsure, though, about the argument that he should be ignored because his antics are meant to raise his profile and become something of a social media superstar.
His attempt to become known as a “meme king”, in much the same way that president’s assistant became more well known because of his “selfie king” stunt, has not taken off.
His sad attempts at virality by posting pictures of him holding up signs with cheesy pickup lines have failed to go viral and ended up being savaged by people who actually make memes.
What have gone viral are his gaffes and the infuriating exercise of his privilege as presidential spokesperson. And these are things that people do need to know about.
If not to hold him to account — nearly impossible under this administration — then to hold up a mirror to all other government officials doing the same thing.
And, really, to all of us involved in various causes, if nothing else but as a warning of how easily it is to slip into arrogance. And how easy it is to excuse ourselves for doing things we shouldn’t by telling ourselves it’s for that cause.
No doubt, Roque is trying to use social media like the “Selfie King” did in preparation for the 2019 elections. But while social media clout may have been a factor in that election victory, the former presidential assistant also had the political machinery and the backing of the president to secure a seat at the Senate.
It is unlikely that Roque enjoys that same privilege, especially since he was a vocal Duterte critic before 2016. As a friend points out, Roque “cannot influencer himself” into an election victory.
RELATED: Harry Roque pirouettes for Duterte
That could mean that being the president’s spokesperson is the highest official position he will ever have as well as the lowest he will ever stoop.
It’s a position that, after his years of chasing attention and his recent years of going against what he said he stood for, he deserves to have.
And this is how he deserves to be remembered.
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Since around 2019, I have been more interested in how communities adapt to government policies.
Maybe it was because of seeing the same debates (on charter change, for example) among government officials every year as well as guilt at the detachedness of working in an airconditioned office in BGC.
Anyway, here is a story on a community in Quezon City that I think deserves more reads (as does our news site): Urban poor community turns demolished homes into food security gardens
And on how a community in Tanay, Rizal hopes to make reforestation a source of extra income: Upland farmers band together to restore forests in Kaliwa watershed
Also, for lack of a community, a look at grieving during the pandemic: In world's longest lockdown, processing grief is a lonely and lingering struggle