Duterte’s Former Spox Harry Roque Reacts To Claim of Ex-President’s ICC Lawyer
HARRY ROQUE – The former Spokesman junked the claim that he is meddling in the case of former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte before the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte is detained under the custody of the ICC in The Hague, Netherlands since March. He was arrested by the Philippine authorities who assisted the Interpol. The former Chief Executive is facing an accusation of crimes against humanity for the drug war of his administration.
Following the transfer of the custody of Duterte to the ICC, his former spokesman, Harry Roque, once again appeared in public after six months. He went into hiding after the House of Representatives issued an arrest order against him for contempt over his alleged involvement in the illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming operations in the country.
According to Harry Roque, he cannot forgive the Marcos admin for causing his separation with his family. He claimed that he will just return to the Philippines after the term of Pres. Bongbong Marcos ends.
Harry Roque is currently an asylum seeker in The Netherlands. According to him, he cannot be deported to the Philippines while his asylum application process is ongoing. He claimed that it may take up to one year and a half.
However, amid the persistent refusal of Roque to return to the Philippines, former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte wants him to go back to the country. Lawyer Nicholas Kaufman, the lead counsel of the former President, made the claim.
According to Kaufman, former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte wants Harry Roque to stop interfering in his ICC case and return to the Philippines. The British-Israeli Lawyer also claimed that a Dutch lawyer claimed that Duterte’s former spokesman came to him as he allegedly wanted to sue the Dutch government over the former President’s arrest.
Recently, Harry Roque responded to the claim of lawyer Nicholas Kaufman. Based on a report on Inquirer, the former presidential Spokesman denied meddling with the ICC case of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte. According to him, it is not true that he interfered in the case nor gave statements that could affect the strategy of the legal team of his former boss.
“My support to the Duterte Legal Defense continues. There is no truth that I have interfered in the case or that I have given statements that might affect the Defense legal strategy in the ICC,” he expressed.
Harry Roque stressed that he only intended to help bring former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte home to the Philippines “alive”. According to him, he offered an “additional legal remedy, outside of the ICC, subject to the approval of the former President and his family”.
“I cannot be blamed for devising remedies to bring former President Duterte home alive. No such idea can be characterized as a crazy scheme,” Roque said.
Roque also claimed that Vice Pres. Sara Duterte acknowledged the discussions between them over the domestic legal remedies for the former President. Based on the report, the former presidential Spox said he deferred to the decision of the Vice President to hold the domestic legal remedy amid the pending result of the interim release bid of her father.
The camp of the former President sought for his interim release to an undisclosed country. However, recently, former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte’s lawyers asked the ICC to pause in the decision-making over the interim release bid of the former Chief Executive.