Malacañang turned a criticism of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. into an opportunity to mock his critic, delivering a pointed line at former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, who questioned the value of Marcos’ impromptu jog inside the Palace compound earlier this week.
Palace press officer Claire Castro dismissed Roque’s call for a formal medical bulletin, saying the president’s brief run was meant to counter what she described as circulating falsehoods about his health.
“For the president, he just wants to show his health to those who love him and to the people. This is to put aside the lies that are currently circulating against him,” Castro said.
She then landed the sharpest line of the briefing — a dig at Roque, who remains in the Netherlands while facing several pending legal cases back home.
“Running is not bad. It is better to run a few meters than to run from the hands of law,” Castro said.
Castro also went after Roque’s credibility on the issue by surfacing his own past statements. She read from news clippings showing that both Roque and fellow former spokesperson Ernesto Abella had once argued against releasing health information about then-President Rodrigo Duterte.
“Former presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella was there, saying, ‘As far as I can see, there’s really no need to do that,’ to release Duterte’s health records,” Castro said. “Even Harry Roque, he had said, ‘I don’t think the people should worry about lack of transparency because the president himself will say what his condition is.'”
Marcos had been hospitalized on January 21 and diagnosed with diverticulitis. On Monday, he performed jumping jacks inside and outside the New Executive Building’s briefing room before jogging a short distance toward the Malacañang grounds. He also invited those allegedly spreading rumors about his condition to exercise alongside him.
