Palace to Harry Roque: ‘Defend yourself first before defending others’

Claire Castro (left) and Harry Roque. INQUIRER FILES

MANILA, Philippines — The Palace on Wednesday offered a piece of advice to former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque: defend yourself first before defending others.

This remark came after Palace Press Officer Claire Castro was asked in a briefing whether the government would block Roque’s application for political asylum in the Netherlands.

“As of now, you may have already heard that Atty. Harry Roque will no longer be part of former President Duterte’s legal team. If he had said that he would be there and wouldn’t go home because he would represent his president, perhaps it would be better for him to represent himself first, to defend himself before defending others,” she responded.

READ: Harry Roque not part of Duterte’s defense team at ICC – VP Sara

“Well, anyway, regarding his asylum, perhaps the Palace will only react once a warrant of arrest has been issued and if he is indeed facing a criminal case in court,” she added.

In a press briefing on Tuesday, ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro said the Makabayan bloc will urge the House of Representatives’ quad committee to counter Roque’s application for asylum in the Netherlands.

Rep. Castro said Roque has to answer pending issues related to the four panels’ investigation of his alleged link to Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos).

READ: Harry Roque a ‘non-entity’ in Rodrigo Duterte’s ICC case – Remulla

He was cited for contempt by the quad committee last September 2024 after he refused to submit documents that were deemed essential to the investigation of his alleged link to Pogos.

But on March 14, Roque was sighted with Vice President Sara Duterte and Senator Robinhood Padilla in The Hague, in the Netherlands, where former President Rodrigo Duterte was scheduled to stand trial before the International Criminal Court.