From Abella to Roque
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has a new spokesperson in former Kabayan party-list Rep. Harry Roque, one of his staunch defenders in the House of Representatives. Roque, whose appointment was announced by the president himself during Roque’s birthday celebration last Friday, replaced Ernesto Abella. The president refused to explain his decision except by saying it is a personal one.
The move naturally sparked speculations on why Abella had to be replaced. But it followed the recent dip in the president’s satisfaction rating based on the recent survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) and, to a certain extent, in the survey conducted by Pulse Asia. Replacing Abella with Roque could, therefore, be part of the effort to push up the president’s rating again.
Abella and Roque are two different personalities. Roque, 51, is 17 years younger than Abella, and the almost two-decade gap showed in their dealings with the media. Roque is animated and aggressive while Abella is composed and defensive. In the swirl of issues that hounded the presidency in the past several months, Abella was a calming voice.
Abella also took the lead in clarifying some of the president’s controversial statements to the point that the act became a running joke among Duterte critics. But while it served the purpose of extricating the president from a bind, it sometimes made the president look too reckless in his statements. This must be the reason why Roque sounded appealing to the president.
Consider this one from the president on Roque: “To get the message clear, I said, Harry will fit because we both speak in playful language.”
It is still too early to say if Roque is really a good fit as the president’s spokesperson. Considering his background, the push-and-pull would be daunting. Roque is a former human rights lawyer who will have to defend the administration’s brutal war on drugs. He is a progressive that will speak for a conservative mind.
Let us see if that interesting mix is really what the president needs in a spokesperson to interpret well his message— something that he may have found wanting in Abella.— Sunnex