MALACAÑANG has revamped its communications team in a bid to improve its dissemination of information on government efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Thursday.
Roque said a memorandum from Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea said “the only authorized persons to speak on behalf of the government are, number one, the presidential spokesperson, and number two, Usec Vergeire (Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire) of the DOH for health-related matters.”
He said he was not aware of the reasons for the sudden change and would just follow the instruction issued in the memorandum. A copy of the memorandum has not been made available to reporters.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, concurrent spokesman of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), has not answered questions or issued any statement on the matter. The IATF started its meeting at 9 a.m Thursday. It was scheduled to meet with President Duterte at 6 p.m.
He did not give a briefing on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Nograles had been conducting daily briefings, some even late at night, on results of the IATF meetings, resolutions passed, and recommendations submitted by the body to the President. He has also been giving interviews with different media outlets.
He has been active on social media and has posted behind the scenes of his virtual briefing, like matching shorts with a more formal top while giving a briefing, and his tribute health workers in the form of dance. He has also appeared on TV where he cried over the plight of frontliners.
Roque returned to his old post last week, at least after he quit to ran for senator. He later withdrew his candidacy.
He replaced Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo as spokesman who just said government wanted a new tact in handling the communication on the COVID-19.
