Former human rights lawyer Roque explains why he took the job as Duterte spokesman

Before he became President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesperson, Harry Roque was known as a human rights lawyer who took on high-profile cases such as the Jennifer Laude killing and the Maguindanao Massacre, and co-founded the non-profit Center for International Law (CenterLaw). 

Roque left CenterLaw when he was elected to the House of Representatives in 2016, and left the House a year later to become Duterte's spokesperson.

In his tenure as the mouthpiece for Malacañang, Roque has found himself defending Duterte, a job that has often seen him go against policies that he himself had previously worked to establish, as a human rights lawyer and advocate.

Roque, for instance, defended Duterte's move to withdraw the Philippines from the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court. Years earlier, Roque had pushed for the Philippines to become a signatory to the treaty.

On GMA News' The Mangahas Interviews this week, however, Roque told journalist Malou Mangahas that he and Duterte had something in common: they're both straight talkers who don’t mince their words. 

“Pareho kami na diretso magsalita. Walang paligoy-ligoy [We are alike in the sense that we tell it as it is. We do not beat around the bush],” Roque said.

Roque also said that when Duterte was Davao City mayor, he provided Roque support when the latter served as counsel for journalist Alex Adonis, who had been sued for libel by former Speaker Prospero Nograles, and again when he was a counsel for Maguindanao massacre victims.

“He helped with logistics, providing transportation and security,” Roque said.

Roque said in 2017 that he gunned for the post of spokesperson to be able to discuss human rights issues with Duterte, but the President since then has repeatedly disparaged the concept of human rights. The latest instance was last week, when he told government forces to kill Communists and disregard human rights. Two days later, nine activists were killed in separate police operations in Calabarzon.

Roque has also ended up trying to explain, or explain away, many of Duterte's comments—such as when the President urged the public on more than one occasion to disinfect masks using gasoline, prompting Roque to repeatedly dismiss this as a light-hearted joke; and whenever Duterte makes a sexist or misogynist comment.

Roque left the Palace spokesperson job in October 2018 to seek a Senate post. He filed his certificate of candidacy but later withdrew from the race, citing health reasons.

Also in October 2018, the President said Roque would not win in the 2019 Senate race.

“Si Roque gusto mag senador. Bigyan kita ibang trabaho. Hindi ka manalo diyan. [Roque wants to be a Senator. I will give you another job. You won't win in the Senate race]," the President said then.

Roque was reappointed as presidential spokesperson in April 2020 at a time when the country was under full-scale lockdown to prevent COVID-19 virus transmission. — BM, GMA News