MANILA - Manila Bishop Broderick Pabillo on Tuesday denied that a reporter's question on how President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesman got a hospital room when most medical facilities were full was "un-Christian."

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque on Saturday said he was admitted to a hospital "at the right time since pneumonia was caught early on." He said that though he felt "better after only one vial of remdesivir and steroids," he would be confined until Thursday.

• Harry Roque says ‘un-Christian’ to ask how he got hospital care, despite bed shortage

Pabillo said government officials must answer the public's questions with transparency.

"It was uncalled for na bansagan mo ang mga taong nagtatanong nang maayos naman at legitimate naman ang question. Hindi. Papaano naging 'un-Christian' 'yun? It was an innocent question," he told ABS-CBN's Teleradyo.

(It was uncalled for to label people who ask legitimate questions [as 'un-Christian]. How was that 'un-Christian,' it was an innocent question.)

"Ang public figures dapat maging transparent sila sa pagsagot sa mga tao. 'Yan ang problema. Pag nagtatanong, sa halip na sagutin ang tanong, ad hominem ang kanilang sagot, titirahin ang nagtatanong. Hindi naman tama 'yun."

(Public figures must be transparent in answering questions. That's the problem. When people ask, instead of answering the question, they respond with ad hominem, they attack the person. That's not right.)

The health department on Monday declined to comment on the alleged prioritization of Roque.

• 'We have protocols,' DOH says on Roque hospitalization even as hospitals announce full capacity

The spokesman did not say where he was confined in, but several persons have said he was seen at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH).

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