MANILA, Philippines — Reports are circulating that Undersecretary Ernesto Abella will be replaced by Kabayan party-list Representative Harry Roque as the presidential spokesperson.
Abella was also absent at Friday’s regular Mindanao Hour briefing in Malacañang.
His assistant, China Jocson, however, maintained that Usec. Abella is still the official spokesperson of President Rodrigo Duterte.
“As of the moment, as you could see, the Office of the Presidential Spokesperson, likewise the presidential spokesperson, we are carrying out our task as always. We, he is still the presidential spokesperson. He is carrying out his mandate. He is not here right now and it is not unusual, I have done several briefings on his behalf. So there is nothing unusual with the presidential spokesperson’s absence today,” said Jocson.
This evening, President Duterte will be attending the birthday dinner of Congressman Roque in Davao City.
The President has earlier endorsed Roque as a candidate for the 2019 senatorial elections.
Meanwhile, the terms Mindanao Hour and Abella became a trend in social media because a comment made by the official Facebook page of the Office of the Presidential Spokesperson in the comment section of the Facebook live broadcast of Mindanao Hour briefing was captured through a screenshot by netizens. The comment was criticizing two media personalities.
But Malacañang said the comment was made by a former administrator of the page who is no longer connected with the office.
The palace also stressed that the comment also does not reflect the Office of the presidential spokesperson and that the access of the person responsible for the comment has been removed.
OPS, however, did not name the said former page administrator. — Rosalie Coz | UNTV News and Rescue
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