MANILA, Philippines – Social media users on Tuesday, June 30, couldn’t help but take a  jab at Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque’s statement congratulating the country for beating the University of the Philippines (UP) experts’ prediction that coronavirus cases could shoot to 40,000 by the end of June.

“We beat the UP prediction po. Panalo na tayo (We won). We beat the UP prediction. Let’s do it again in July,” Roque said in a press briefing. (READ: Roque spins again: ‘We beat the UP prediction…Congratulations, Philippines!)

However, as of June 28, the Department of Health’s (DOH) COVID-19 tracker showed that 46,335 individuals are positive for the virus, 36,438 of which were validated.

Roque and “Congratulations Philippines” quickly became trending topics on Twitter.

UP mathematics professor Guido David and political science professor Ranjit Singh Rye, the researchers of the study in question, stated the main “battlegrounds” for the coronavirus in the country include Metro Manila and Cebu.

Earlier this month, President Rodrigo Duterte placed Cebu City under lockdown again after a spike in coronavirus cases in the city.

On Tuesday, June 30, the Philippines breached the 37,000 mark, with 37,514 confirmed coronavirus cases, half of which were recorded cases from Central Visayas.

Social media users were quick to poke fun at Roque’s statement. Actor Luis Manzano joked about how all this time he thought COVID-19 was the real enemy.

UP pala ang kalaban?

Actor Luis Manzano takes a jab at Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque’s statement “congratulating” the Philippines for beating the University of the Philippines’ (UP) prediction of 40k cases by the end of June. pic.twitter.com/alpytp8UoD

— Rappler (@rapplerdotcom) June 30, 2020

Here are some memes about Roque’s remark:

We did it Patrick. We beat UP.

#PinoyPride?

Uwian na, may nanalo na.

UP be like: “Pero bakit kasalanan ko? Parang kasalanan ko?”

In a Facebook post, the UP Office of the Student Regent (OSR) responded to Roque’s remarks and reiterated that instead of “beating UP,” the government’s priority should be to beat COVID-19.

“The clock is ticking and there is a huge need to effectively act now and to recognize that the pandemic requires a pro-people, rights-based comprehensive program to be resolved. The Filipino people deserves better,” the UP OSR said in a statement.

Here are more reactions about this issue:

Roque reactions – Curated tweets by rapplerdotcom

What are your thoughts on Roque’s remark? Let us know in the comments! – Rappler.com