MANILA, Philippines – Social media is abuzz over Pinky Webb’s calm hair flip gesture amid the angry tirade of presidential spokesperson Harry Roque in a televised interview on CNN Philippines’ “The Source” on Wednesday.
The interview centers on the controversial termination of the 1989 University of the Philippines (UP)-Department of National Defense (DND) Accord which prohibits the unauthorized entry of state forces in all UP campuses.
During the interview, Webb asked Roque for his opinion regarding the tweet of fellow UP Journalism Prof. Danilo Arao. Roque earned his law degree in UP and had been a long-time professor at the university.
Webb read out Arao’s tweet before asking Roque whether he is denouncing Lorenzana’s letter as a former student and UP professor. In reply, the spokesperson promised to help mediate between the two parties.
“I’m asking the DND Secretary and the President of UP to sit down, and I have offered my good offices to facilitate this meeting,” Roque replied.
Webb pressed on, asking for his personal opinion on the matter and not as presidential spokesperson. She also emphasized Arao’s use of ‘denounce’ in the challenge.
“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.
“I’m not duty-bound to follow anything that Prof. Arao says.”
After the commercial break, however, an angry Roque launched into a tirade as he accused Webb of asking an ‘unfair’ question and making it sound like he doesn’t have ‘honor or excellence’ if he doesn’t follow what Arao wants him to do.
“In the first place, why am I duty-bound to follow anything that Prof. Arao says? You made it appear as if it’s compulsory to follow it,” Roque said.
As Roque insists that Webb’s question was unfair, Webb repeatedly clarified that she was merely asking his opinion over Arao’s tweet.
Amid Roque’s angry tirade, netizens could not help but notice how calmly Webb responded to what they see as ‘tantrum’. Many laughingly pointed out Webb’s hair flip gesture as she handled the spokesperson’s anger.
“Yung G na G si Harry Roque tapos flip lang ng flip ng hair si Pinky Webb. Love it! Hahaha!” one netizen wrote while sharing a portion of the interview video.
“The way she flipped her hair HAHAJHSAH. She ain’t about Roque’s b*llsh*t HHAHSHS,” another wrote.
“Pinky Webb” trended on Twitter, with many netizens creating memes and funny gifs of her hair flip gesture.
Amid this trending issue, however, there were a lot of netizens who had no idea why the UP-DND Accord is such a big deal now.
The accord was an agreement signed between then-defense chief Fidel V. Ramos and then-UP president Jose Abueva on June 30, 1989. Several guidelines are listed out in the accord but the main point is that it bars unauthorized entry of state forces in UP campuses.
Based on the accord, no military or police shall enter the premises of UP campuses except in “cases of hot pursuit and similar occasions of emergency”. Also, state forces can only conduct any operations inside UP campuses after prior notice is given to the UP administration.
Moreover, state forces are not allowed to interfere with “peaceful protest actions” inside the campus by the UP community. Even serving search warrants inside the campus needs prior notice, no matter who the warrant is for. Also, the UP administration is supposed to be immediately notified of the “arrest or detention of any student, faculty, or employee anywhere in the Philippines”.
— Joy Adalia, The Summit Express
 |
| Screenshot from CNN Philippines video interview. |
The interview centers on the controversial termination of the 1989 University of the Philippines (UP)-Department of National Defense (DND) Accord which prohibits the unauthorized entry of state forces in all UP campuses.
During the interview, Webb asked Roque for his opinion regarding the tweet of fellow UP Journalism Prof. Danilo Arao. Roque earned his law degree in UP and had been a long-time professor at the university.
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
Webb read out Arao’s tweet before asking Roque whether he is denouncing Lorenzana’s letter as a former student and UP professor. In reply, the spokesperson promised to help mediate between the two parties.
“I’m asking the DND Secretary and the President of UP to sit down, and I have offered my good offices to facilitate this meeting,” Roque replied.
Webb pressed on, asking for his personal opinion on the matter and not as presidential spokesperson. She also emphasized Arao’s use of ‘denounce’ in the challenge.
“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.
“I’m not duty-bound to follow anything that Prof. Arao says.”
After the commercial break, however, an angry Roque launched into a tirade as he accused Webb of asking an ‘unfair’ question and making it sound like he doesn’t have ‘honor or excellence’ if he doesn’t follow what Arao wants him to do.
“In the first place, why am I duty-bound to follow anything that Prof. Arao says? You made it appear as if it’s compulsory to follow it,” Roque said.
As Roque insists that Webb’s question was unfair, Webb repeatedly clarified that she was merely asking his opinion over Arao’s tweet.
On #TheSource with Pinky Webb, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque refused to react to what he described as an unfair question on honor and excellence regarding the controversial abrogation of the 1989 UP-DND Accord, which bars unauthorized entry of state forces in its campuses pic.twitter.com/DMZEyYrili
— CNN Philippines (@cnnphilippines) January 20, 2021
Amid Roque’s angry tirade, netizens could not help but notice how calmly Webb responded to what they see as ‘tantrum’. Many laughingly pointed out Webb’s hair flip gesture as she handled the spokesperson’s anger.
“Yung G na G si Harry Roque tapos flip lang ng flip ng hair si Pinky Webb. Love it! Hahaha!” one netizen wrote while sharing a portion of the interview video.
“The way she flipped her hair HAHAJHSAH. She ain’t about Roque’s b*llsh*t HHAHSHS,” another wrote.
“Pinky Webb” trended on Twitter, with many netizens creating memes and funny gifs of her hair flip gesture.
Amid this trending issue, however, there were a lot of netizens who had no idea why the UP-DND Accord is such a big deal now.
The accord was an agreement signed between then-defense chief Fidel V. Ramos and then-UP president Jose Abueva on June 30, 1989. Several guidelines are listed out in the accord but the main point is that it bars unauthorized entry of state forces in UP campuses.
Based on the accord, no military or police shall enter the premises of UP campuses except in “cases of hot pursuit and similar occasions of emergency”. Also, state forces can only conduct any operations inside UP campuses after prior notice is given to the UP administration.
Moreover, state forces are not allowed to interfere with “peaceful protest actions” inside the campus by the UP community. Even serving search warrants inside the campus needs prior notice, no matter who the warrant is for. Also, the UP administration is supposed to be immediately notified of the “arrest or detention of any student, faculty, or employee anywhere in the Philippines”.
— Joy Adalia, The Summit Express
