Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Monday drew the ire of Filipinos as he claimed the win of Filipino athletes in the recent Tokyo Olympics to be of “no coincidence” all because of the Duterte Administration.
“Hindi coincidence na we had the best-ever performance in the Olympics including our first gold medal ever in our history under the leadership of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte,” Roque said on a press briefing, August 9.
He then claimed that the reason why Filipino athletes performed well is that Pres. Duterte “invested” in them.
“The figures will bear me out pero talaga naman pong nagtanim at nag-invest ang ating Pangulo sa ating mga atleta.
“Sa kauna-unahang panahon po, record po ang suportang pinansyal na binigay natin sa ating mga atleta at nakita naman po natin ang naging prutas ng ganyang investment.”
Over Twitter, Netizens and personalities criticized Roque for his credit-grabbing.
Zy-Za Nadine Suzara, the executive director of iLead PH, showed proof of why the Duterte Administration cannot claim the win of Filipinos in the recent Olympics.
According to Suzara, the figures presented by Roque from the Commission on Audit (COA) were not the “source of budget level or appropriations data for the year on year comparisons.”
If he's basing this on the budget levels posted by one of those pro-administration "influencers", can I just point out major errors in that infog:
First of all, COA FIGURES ARE NOT THE SOURCE OF BUDGET LEVEL OR APPROPRIATIONS DATA FOR YEAR ON YEAR COMPARISONS. https://t.co/OmTmNRE5bH
— Budget Babe (@znsuzara) August 9, 2021
She then pointed out that Roque should not have compared the COA report from previous administrations to the current Administration’s General Appropriations.
Secondly, when you do historical budget comparisons, MAKE SURE THE FIGURES YOU'RE COMPARING ARE APPLES TO APPLES. IF YOU USE COA DATA, USE COA DATA FOR ENTIRE DATASET – NOT COA DATA FOR PREVIOUS ADMINS AND GAA FOR THE CURRENT ADMIN.
COA reports show funds which HAVE BEEN SPENT.
— Budget Babe (@znsuzara) August 9, 2021
The budget for athletes should not include the cost of hosting the SEA Games as well. Suzara stressed that the “funds allocated for the preparation itself” do not mean directly supporting the athletes.
Third, BUDGET DATA FOR ATHLETES INCLUDED THE COST OF HOSTING THE SEA GAMES.
OKAY LANG SILA?! HOSTING NGA EH MEANING FUNDS ALLOCATED FOR THE PREPARATIONS ITSELF NOT NECESSARILY DIRECT SUPPORT FOR THE ATHLETES.
— Budget Babe (@znsuzara) August 9, 2021
ABS-CBN journalist MJ Felipe was flabbergasted by Roque’s claim that he even tweeted, “MAGKAPE KA HUY.”
MAGKAPE KA HUY. ☕ https://t.co/dDOvbViATa
— MJ Felipe (@mjfelipe) August 9, 2021
TV writer Marlon Miguel ridiculed Roque as he reiterated that Filipinos, during their preparation for the Tokyo Olympics, were begging for the Government’s support. He then criticized Roque for “insulting” the victory of Filipino Olympians by claiming that the Administration contributed to their victory.
Ano'ng investment? E halos manglimos ang mga atleta ng suporta mula sa gobyerno. Don't insult the victory of our Olympians by claiming that the Government is responsible or contributed to their win. pic.twitter.com/Lu668R8wxC
— Kuya M (マロン。ミゲル) (@marlon_g_miguel) August 9, 2021
Filipino-American footballer Steven Silva even called Roque a “credit-grabber.”
Credit grabbing pa more! 🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️
— Steven Silva (@iamstevensilva) August 9, 2021
Philip Jamilla of Karapatan also lambasted Roque as he was seen trying to associate the Government with the win of Philippine athletes.
Taray Gold Medal in Weightlifting ng sariling bangko pati mental gymnastics
— Philip Jamilla (@pmjamilla) August 9, 2021
TV and film director Antoinette Jadaone could only laugh out loud as Roque made such a statement.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA https://t.co/ElFeI9z9M6
— Toñet (@tonetjadaone) August 9, 2021
Filmmaker JP Habac could only describe the current administration as “garapal” as they try to grab the victories in the Tokyo Olympics.
https://twitter.com/jphabac/status/1424673122108641284
Physician and columnist Gideon Lasco threw some shade at Roque’s “best-ever performance” statement as he linked the supposed “contribution” of the Government to how they handle the pandemic.
No coincidence that we had our worst economic performance and worst public health crisis under Duterte. https://t.co/bsOqDNQ1oD
— Gideon Lasco (@gideonlasco) August 9, 2021
In 2018, now Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz expressed her frustrations about Philippine weightlifting as she sought additional financial support from the Government.
Then in 2019, while Diaz was thinking of asking for support from private sponsors since she did not receive any from the Government, she was included in then Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo’s list of personalities, celebrities, and groups that were “planning to oust Duterte.”
