MANILA, Philippines — Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque should comply with his arrest order if he genuinely has nothing to hide from the public, former Sen. Leila De Lima said.
After filing Mamamayang Liberal Partylist’s certificate of nomination and acceptance on Saturday, October 5, De Lima was asked for an opinion on the House order to detain Roque.
The former senator, who is seeking a return to Congress in 2025, said that Roque, as a lawyer and a “man of law,” must comply with the legal process when government-issued orders have been made.
“Of course, he must (face authorities). He’s a lawyer. He’s a man of law. He’s supposed to be a lawyer,” De Lima said.
She explained that she herself had confronted all the charges made against her, even though they were fabricated, implying that Roque should too.
“Ako nga hinarap ko eh kahit gawa gawang mga kaso eh. (I even faced mine, despite the charges being fabricated.) … I respected the rule of law. I went through the whole process even though it was so painful and tedious on my part,” De Lima added.
The former senator also mentioned that Roque should not be acting “all brave” on social media while hiding, as he has no reason to fear the law if he truly respects it.
“Kung wala kang kasalanan, wala kang tinatago, harapin mo ng buong tapang. Hindi yung nagtatapang tapangan lang siya na naglalive feed na lang siya and iniinsulto pa niya ang ating law enforcers,” De Lima said.
(If you are innocent and have nothing to hide, face it with courage. Don’t just pretend to be all brave by doing live feeds while insulting our law enforcers.)
Roque’s joy over De Lima’s detention
During the Duterte administration, Roque openly criticized De Lima for her strong opposition to the government’s war on drugs.
The former senator faced illegal drug trade charges in 2017 and was arrested.
After a year, Roque expressed his satisfaction over De Lima’s “anniversary” in detention, wishing for her to remain imprisoned for a lifetime.
“As I said, happy anniversary on your first year of detention. May you spend the rest of your life in jail,” Roque said in 2018.
All charges against De Lima were dismissed in June 2024 due to insufficient evidence and the recantation of testimonies from inmates.
Now that the tables have turned, De Lima believes Roque has recognized how wrong he was in treating her poorly.
“So really, marunong talaga ang Diyos (God really knows what he’s doing),” she added.
Roque’s arrest order
On September 12, lawmakers moved to arrest Roque for a second time after he evaded the House quadcom’s probe into the illegal operations of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators or POGOs.
They suspect that the sudden increase in Roque’s assets from 2014 to 2018 is linked to his alleged involvement in POGOs, leading to a show cause order for his financial documents.
RELATED: House quadcom cites Harry Roque in contempt again, orders detention
Roque, through his daughter, filed a petition for a special protective order or a writ of amparo from the Supreme Court.
However, the Supreme Court denied the petition on October 1 because it is only given to cases of extrajudicial killings.
“Look at him now. He’s on the run instead of facing the rule of law, and he’s even insulting it. He hasn’t shown himself even though his writ of amparo has been dismissed,” De Lima said in a mix of English and Filipino.
Hoping for a political comeback, De Lima will be running alongside former congressmen Teddy Baguilat and Erin Tañada as Mamamayang Liberal Partylist’s leading nominees.
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