FPRRD, rotten product? PCO's Castro claps back at Roque's 'salesmen' barb

Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro responded to former Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque after he referred to her and Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Jay Ruiz as "salesmen" of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his administration.

"We are not salesmen here. We are messengers," Castro asserted during a press briefing on Monday.

Roque’s remark came last week after Castro and Ruiz took their oath of office before Marcos. The former presidential spokesman quipped that selling a "bad product" is difficult, implying that the administration’s messaging task is an uphill battle.

"I admit that it is difficult to be a messenger of the administration because you are like a salesman. You have to sell your President. But all salesmen know that no matter how good a salesman you are, if the product is not good, it will be difficult to sell," Roque said.

While initially agreeing with Roque’s statement, Castro took a swipe at the former Duterte administration spokesperson.

"We truly believe that it's hard to sell a rotten or bad product. It's really hard to sell when what you're selling is something you have to clean up. It's hard to sell people who always say they're kidding," she remarked.

During the previous administration, Roque was often seen clarifying then-President Rodrigo Duterte’s controversial statements, labeling some of them as jokes. A notable instance was during the COVID-19 pandemic when Duterte suggested disinfecting face masks by dousing them with gasoline. Roque later defended the comment, saying Filipinos were simply not used to Duterte’s humor.

Despite brushing off Roque’s opinion of her and Ruiz, Castro underscored that the Palace communications team is tasked with relaying government policies and initiatives to the public, not selling an image.

"We are messengers; we are not selling the president or the government. We are just showing and presenting what the people can get from our government, what our government can do to help the people. So, we are not salesmen; we are messengers," she reiterated.