Duterte names Roque as new spokesman
After a week of speculations, President Duterte formally announced that Kabayan Party-list representative Harry Roque will be his new spokesman.
The President made the announcement during Roque's birthday celebration in Davao City at pre-dawn Saturday.
In a video provided to Palace reporters by Maresciel Yao, Duterte said Roque is fit to be his spokesman as they have similar characteristic of having a playful mouth.
“To get the message clear, sabi ko (I said), ‘Harry will fit the [bill] – kasi parehong malikot ang bunganga namin (because we both have a playful mouth),” he said.
Duterte also said in the same video that Roque, who will have the rank of secretary, will formally be appointed on November 6, 2017.
“Hindi na siya congressman, secretary na siya (He is no longer a congressman, he is now a secretary),” Duterte said.
“To make his entrance dramatic, he will be attending his first Cabinet meeting, Monday (November 6),” he added. He is set to take oath during the expected Cabinet meeting.
Roque is expected to formally speak for the President after Duterte's official visit to Japan from October 29 to October 31.
Adviser to President Roque hopes to advise President Duterte regarding the methods he uses in solving the country's drug problem.
In a statement, Roque said his new position as presidential spokesman will not change his position on the human rights situation on the Philippines.
“I considered the position with the specific purpose of getting an audience with the President to address key human rights issues in the Philippines,” he said.
Roque said that despite being a member of Congress, his “voice is limited” just like all other politicians who relentlessly criticize the Duterte government but are simply ignored and labeled as “destabilizers.”
“By taking this position, I hope to be able to advise the President directly regarding the manner and methods he has used to tackle the problem of drugs. I have already expressed my willingness to serve as an adviser on the matter,” said Roque.
He stressed that Duterte’s statements on human rights issues are the main reasons that “drew me toward the position of spokesperson.
“More often than not, the media and the Filipino people have looked to the spokesperson to determine the true intention behind the President’s statements,” Roque stated.
He said it is in this light that the spokesperson “plays a pivotal role in confirming the policy of the state.”
“By taking up this position, I intend to refocus the attention of the people more toward the fundamental position of the State, and less towards the manner by which such has been declared,” Roque vowed.
“I must also stress that my position on human rights has not changed. I am a firm advocate for the protection and preservation of fundamental human rights of all persons,” Roque added.
How about Abella?
It is not yet clear, however, if he will be replacing current Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella, who carries the rank of undersecretary.
Duterte's decision comes after his alleged dissatisfaction with how Abella handled the media, especially when the President said that the European Union (EU) was suggesting that the Philippines could be removed from the United Nations (UN) due to human rights violations.
Until Duterte's appointment, Roque was a member of the 17th Congress. He is a human rights advocate and a law professor at the University of the Philippines, teaching constitutional law and public international law.
According to his website, Roque received his Master of Laws with Merits from the London School of Economics in 1996, Bachelor of Laws from University of the Philippines in 1990, and Bachelor of Arts (Economics and Political Science) from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1986.
Through the advocacy group Centerlaw which he founded, Roque and his team represented the victims of the 2009 Ampatuan Massacre; the Malaya Lolas, the victims of rape and abuse by the Japanese Imperial Army; and the family of slain Jennifer Laude.
Roque scored
While Roque made clear his stand, opposition stalwart Rep. Edcel Lagman (LP, Albay) said the former’s joining the Cabinet let the cat out of the bag as it reveals his real stand on human rights controversies that have hounded the Duterte administration.
Lagman said Roque’s decision has confirmed “his dubious role in defending the President’s wayward policies,” adding that this could be explained by the party-list lawmaker past stand on human rights issues in the Lower House.
“The charade is now over as Roque is liberated and obligated to be the President’s official apologist,” said the veteran lawmaker.
Lagman chided Roque for having “minimized the grave import of the unabated extra-judicial killings related to the President’s deadly campaign against the drug menace.”
He recalled that as a congressman, Roque, who won national fame through his relentless legal defense of human rights, voted for the confirmation of the declaration of martial law and its extension; and he did not vote against the reduction of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) budget to P1,000 and even called for a zero budget for the CHR.
“Roque failed to criticize Duterte’s predisposition to authoritarian rule and intention to declare a revolutionary government and he advocated for the creation of a panel to investigate the Ombudsman and recommend her impeachment for unwarranted and politically motivated reasons,” Lagman said.
The Bicolano solon added: “We wish Roque well in his job of justifying the unjustifiable and defending the indefensible pronouncements and policies of the President.”