'Not what you call gross violation,' says interior chief

MANILA - The videoke session of the President Rodrigo Duterte's top legal counsel is an "isolated incident," Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said Monday as the government urged public singing to be prohibited to lessen the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo drew flak over the weekend after a video showing him singing inside a restaurant made rounds on social media. The former Duterte spokesman took off his face mask and kept his face shield on, according to Año.

• 'Bawal bumirit': Will COVID-19 lead to karaoke ban?

Panelo should have exercised "utmost proper discretion," Año added.

"Ito ay isang isolated incident, hindi naman ito tinatawag na talagang gross violation. Nagkausap na rin kami ni Sec. Panelo at binigyan ko siya ng advise bilang isang high official ay maging sensitive tayo sa mga ganiyang klase ng insidente at iiwasan dapat," he told ABS-CBN's Teleradyo.

(This is an isolated incident, not what you call a gross violation. Sec. Panelo and I already talked and I advised him that as a high official he should be sensitive to these kinds of incidents.)

"Wala naman kinakailangang imbestigahan dito pero ito ay isang mapupulutan ng aral na bilang isang official dapat i-observe mo ang lahat."

(There's nothing that needs to be investigated here but this should serve as a lesson to public officials.)

Año said Panelo had contacted him and apologized.

"Nag-apologize siya na hindi dapat niya ginawa. At the minimum naman sabi niya inobserve daw niya an minimum health standards. Di lang daw marinig ang boses niya, maintindihan, kaya ang mga tao nagsabi na tanggalin mo ang mask," he said.

(He apologized and said he should not have done it. He said he observed minimum health standards but the people could not understand him and asked him to take off his mask.)

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque last month also drew public ire for singing karoke during the onslaught of Typhoon Ulysses.

• ‘Ano ba naman ito’: Roque hits back at critics of his public singing session

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