Roque happy to warm the bench of Rody's legal team

Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque clarified on Thursday that he will not insist on being part of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s legal team at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

In a Facebook Live session, Roque, an ICC-accredited lawyer, said that even if the elder Duterte wanted him on the team, he would decline the role if Vice President Sara Duterte did not support it.

“President Duterte can choose whoever he wants. But for me, if Vice President Sara doesn’t want me and she prefers someone else to represent him, ma’am, that’s your call,” he said.

“I won’t force myself into it, and even if PRRD requests me, it’s also important that Vice President Sara endorses and requests me as well. You all know my story — I have always been a follower of VP Sara. I will follow whatever she says, and that’s the honest truth," he added.

Earlier this week, the Vice President confirmed that Roque and former Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea would no longer be part of her father’s defense team. She noted they were considering bringing in a foreign lawyer with extensive ICC experience.

"I still have lawyers to talk to. Another lawyer is coming, and I will interview him to join the team. Once the ICC team is finalized, Atty. Medialdea will step back because there are only limited slots for lawyers, and we want all members of the team to have ICC experience," she said during her second visit to her father at the ICC detention facility in Scheveningen, The Hague, Netherlands.

She also explained that Roque’s exclusion from the legal team was to avoid complications.

"It has not yet been established on what basis he is staying in the Netherlands, and we don’t want any complications," she said.

"We want the lawyers to focus entirely on the case. I heard he is applying for asylum — he has publicly announced it — so we want him to focus on that while our legal team concentrates on the case," she added.

Roque earlier confirmed his intention to seek asylum in the Netherlands, citing what he described as “political persecution through unjust prosecution” by the House Quad-Committee.

He is facing non-bailable human trafficking charges for his alleged involvement in a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) firm in Pampanga, and also has an outstanding contempt order from the House of Representatives for failing to attend its mega committee hearings.

British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman has been officially named as lead defense counsel for Duterte in his crimes against humanity case before the international tribunal.