A VISIBLY pissed off presidential spokesperson Harry Roque declined to say how he managed to secure a hospital room past hundreds of other patients waiting in line for admission at the Philippine General Hospital after being re-infected by the deadly virus from Wuhan, China.
“With all due respect, that is an unchristian question,” said Roque when asked by Palace reporters.
Presiding over the regular virtual press briefing while under hospital confinement, Roque insisted that his situation calls for an immediate admission.
“Bumaba po ang aking oxygen level to 90,” the Palace mouthpiece added.
Looking back, Roque announced having been re-infected on Saturday, two weeks after he claims to have tested positive with COVID-19.
Interestingly, Roque stood firm against the idea of making public his RT-PCR test results during his first infection. He invoked privacy.
At the press briefing, Roque maintained all Filipinos in need of medical attention would be properly attended to citing measures in place in view of the Universal Healthcare Law.
“Ang aking assurance, sa administrasyon ni Presidente Rodrigo Duterte, lahat po ng nangangailangan ng tulong medikal ay mabibigyan ng tulong dahil sa Universal Healthcare Law,” he said.
Latest figures coming from the Department of Health showed 157,451 active COVID-19 cases. Of this figure, close to 60,000 were recorded in the National Capital Region.
In a related development, the DOH refused to comment on what has been referred to as an express lane that Roque used to be admitted at the PGH amid saturated hospital wards due to the new surge of infections.
Roque’s confinement elicited criticism as several hospitals in Metro Manila and nearby provinces already reached full capacity due to a surge in virus cases.
“We have our protocols and there is also triaging system in our hospitals based on the level of severity of patients when they come in. For this, please forgive me I’m not going to comment on this but as I’ve said, we have protocols in our system,” DOH spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said in an earlier interview aired on national television.
A day after being admitted, Roque claimed feeling better “after only one vial of remdesivir and steroids” and that he would check into a step-down facility on Friday to complete his 14-day isolation.