Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque has broken his silence following remarks from Rodrigo Duterte’s legal counsel accusing him of meddling in the former president’s case before the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In a statement issued online on Wednesday, Roque dismissed allegations that he interfered with the legal team’s strategy or made any public comments that could disrupt their efforts. “There is no truth that I have interfered in the case or that I have given statements that might affect the Defense legal strategy in the ICC,” he wrote.
Roque explained that his efforts were solely aimed at exploring alternative legal options—outside the ICC—to help Duterte return safely to the Philippines, and only with the approval of Duterte and his family. He stressed that such ideas should not be dismissed outright. “I cannot be blamed for devising remedies to bring former President Duterte home alive,” he said.
He also mentioned that Vice President Sara Duterte had been consulted on these potential remedies and that he respected her decision to defer any action pending other developments.
Calling for professionalism and unity, Roque urged lawyer Nicholas Kaufman to move away from personal attacks. “Ad hominem attacks and other forms of character assassination have no place in the legal profession and any decent society,” he said.
Roque concluded his statement by appealing for focus on the goal: “Bring the former President home alive to make the Filipinos the happiest persons on earth.”
The issue surfaced after Kaufman, in an interview published on the Facebook page Alvin and Tourism, claimed that Duterte and his inner circle had no interest in working with Roque. “The former President has made it known that Roque should stop interfering in his case and return to the Philippines to sort out his own troubling legal issues,” Kaufman said.
He also disclosed that Roque had suggested suing the Dutch government for its supposed role in Duterte’s ICC situation—an idea Kaufman called “a crazy scheme,” arguing it would be counterproductive to seek help from a government being sued.
