CHALLENGE: UP faculty and alumni who are Duterte's top-level officials should denounce Lorenzana's letter terminating the 1989 accord. This disregards everything that UP stands for. Should they remain silent, a six-word question: Where is your honor and excellence?
— Danilo Arao (@dannyarao) January 18, 2021
Roque responded: "There's really no such thing when you are a Presidential spokesperson."
"All I'm saying is, let's talk about this, I support the steps of the UP President, and let's see why a 30-year-old accord should not be continued when it has worked, apparently perfectly well, in the past 30 years," he added.
However, after a brief break, Roque, a former UP student, got testy for being asked on the spot. He also said that the tweet is unfair, adding that he isn't 'duty-bound to follow anything Arao says.'
"I'm not duty-bound by anything that Prof. Areo says," the spokesperson further said. "In the first place, why am I duty-bound to follow anything that Prof. Arao says?" he asked.
"You made it appear as if it's compulsory to follow it," Roque added. Webb responded that she did not tell him he was "duty-bound," but Roque insisted that such was the case.
"But you said I had to follow him, and if I did not do as he did then I have no honor or excellence. Is that a fair question? That's not," the spokesman said.
Webb then clarified that she only asked for the spokesman's views on Arao 's tweet and whether he agrees with it.
However, Roque claimed that Webb implied he has "no sense of excellence or honor" if he disagrees with Arao, which was immediately refuted by the journalist.
It was a minute of intense back-and-forth of "you said, I said," with Roque getting testy with every second. Suddenly, Pinky, who is keeping her cool while Roque mansplains the situation, capped off a casual hair flip — iconic TV moment.
