Lawyer of Former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte Speaks on Harry Roque
RODRIGO DUTERTE – The lawyer of the former President claimed that FPRDD wants ex-presidential counsel Harry Roque to stop interfering in his International Criminal Court (ICC) case and return to the Philippines.
Former Pres. Duterte remains under the custody of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands. He is faced with an accusation of crimes against humanity over the war on drugs of his administration.
The family members of the former President take turns in visiting him inside the ICC detention facility. His confirmation of charges is scheduled on September 23. Several allies of the former Chief Executive were also spotted in The Hague.
The former spokesman of ex-Pres. Rodrigo Duterte, Atty. Harry Roque, was one of those spotted in The Hague. Roque hoped to be allowed to visit Duterte in his previous pursuit to be part of the ICC legal team of the former President.
However, the ICC legal team of former Pres. Duterte is composed of all foreign lawyers. According to Vice Pres. Sara Duterte, they want the lawyers of her father to be focusing in his ICC case. She stressed that former presidential spokesman Harry Roque should focus on his bid for asylum.
Harry Roque is currently faced with a pending warrant of arrest issued by a local court in the Philippines over his alleged involvement in the illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming operations. He was hiding for six months following an arrest order by the House of Representatives for contempt and was seen only in public again upon the transfer of the custody of his former boss to the ICC in The Hague.
As an asylum seeker in The Netherlands, Harry Roque claimed that he cannot be deported to the Philippines while the process is ongoing. According to him, it may take up to one and a half year.
However, amid the strong support shown by Harry Roque for former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte and his family, the lawyer of the former Chief Executive, Nicholas Kaufman, claimed that his client want his former spokesman to stop meddling in his ICC case and return to the Philippines.
Based on a report on Inquirer, citing the British-Israeli lawyer’s interview with Alvin and Tourism, Atty. Nicholas Kaufman claimed that neither former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte nor anyone else in his immediate vicinity is allegedly interested to have Harry Roque as lawyer.
“The former President has made it known that Roque should stop interfering in his case and return to the Philippines to sort out his own troubling legal issues,” Duterte’s lead counsel said.
Based on the report, the lawyer of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte also claimed that a Dutch lawyer allegedly confirmed to him that Harry Roque wants to sue the Dutch government for facilitating the rendition of the former Chief Executive.
Back in the Philippines, countless die-hard Duterte supporters call for the return of the former President in the Philippines. Amid the backlash on her brother, presidential sister and Sen. Imee Marcos filed the “President Rodrigo Roa Duterte Act” in the Senate.