Roque to De Lima: May you spend the rest of your life in jail

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque on Tuesday hit back at Senator Leila De Lima for suggesting he has bartered his dignity and reputation as a human rights lawyer in exchange for a spot in the administration's senatorial ticket in May 2019 elections.

"As I said, happy anniversary on your first year of detention. May you spend the rest of your life in jail. Good night. Goodbye. So that’s my reaction," Roque said at a press briefing in Malacañang.

Roque earlier called De Lima the "mother of all drug lords" by allegedly allowing the illegal drug trade to proliferate inside the New Bilibid Prison when she was Justice secretary in exchange for funds for her senatorial campaign in 2016.

Turning the tables on Roque, De Lima said in a statement that she felt sorry for Roque, a human rights lawyer and law professor before he entered politics.

"He used to have some semblance of credibility. He held himself out as a defender of the oppressed. Now, it seems he has sold his own identity in exchange for a possible Senate run," De Lima said.

"Mr. Roque, I understand, aspires to one day call himself a senator. There is nothing wrong with that per se. But just because he has bartered his dignity and reputation as a human rights lawyer, in exchange for a senatorial berth in the President's party, it doesn't mean that everyone are willing to go down that path," she added.

Roque had said he had no means to run for senator although he thanked Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez for the endorsement.

The Palace official also said he is focused on his job as Duterte's spokesperson. —ALG, GMA News