Tough-talking crusader becomes DU30’s voice

There is sense of disconnect when one meets Harry Roque for the first time. The man looks almost jovial, but then again, he is facing the entertainment press. He is visibly relaxed, talking about his favorite soap opera, Coco Martin’s FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano on ABS-CBN, as well as his being “a certified Noranian.”

He guffaws at the friendly digs he gets about an apparent preference for one TV network over the other, which he roundly denies. His eyes turn soft when he talks about his wife and children.

The difference is not that obvious, some may say, because it is just his eyes that harden just a little when talk turns to issues and controversies in politics.

The presidential spokesman and presidential adviser for human rights has been the object of much conjecture over the unlikely decision he made to accept the offer to become the spokesman for a President whose policies are in stark contrast with all that he had worked for in the past.

Their tough talk may be the only obvious similarity between the two. After all, when Roque was busy fighting for the

underdogs, advocating their human rights, he was also a pit bull of sorts.

Yet how did he convince himself to speak for a man whose drug war has riled up human rights advocates everywhere?

Before he became voice of the President, Roque was quite outspoken in defending the disadvantaged, the poor and the oppressed. The former University of the Philippines (UP) law professor also made a mark as a prolific party-list representative who was always aligned with the underdog and the powerless.

Among Roque’s notable cases were the 2009 Maguindanao massacre where he defended the rights of 34 murdered journalists and 19 other dead civilians and the 2014 murder of Filipina trans-gender Jennifer Laude by American soldier Joseph Scott Pemberton; among many other celebrated cases.

“The champion of the underdogs for decades, Roque has always fought for the defenseless against the Goliaths, including other governments and known-murderers; for the aging Comfort Women — when others refused to take up the case and would rather bury the issue; for murdered environmentalist Gerry Ortega against big corporations,” goes the information provided about the prominent lawyer.

Moreover, “He was also the lawyer for some 40 journalists against unwarranted actions by the previous governments. Part of his long list of crusades includes being one of the founders of Centerlaw, a non-profit organization that defends the voiceless and the poor of Philippine society.”

But just like his boss, Roque does not shirk from a challenge. If anything, he goes into it full steam, though apparently not without plenty of thought.

“When I entered this office, I asked, ‘Why me? I’m not a journalist. I thought the primary qualification was to be a journalist. Hindi pala (Apparently not). You need to know the law especially if you are speaking for a lawyer. It came in handy that I knew the law somehow and knew international law. Those are the most important raging issues of the day,” he told the Daily Tribune.

“The position is really very challenging,” he admits. “In fact, as you go up to my office which is on the third floor, you’ll see the photos of my predecessors. No one really lasted longer than a year. I think the average was eight months. And it’s a very tough job.”

Roque’s day begins at the break of dawn. “I deal with the media…as early as 5:45 in the morning. I have a radio guesting at 6. I end my day, I think, at about 9 in the evening, which is the last request for a statement. It’s constant requests for a statement; it’s constant reading of the news, constant reading of papers. Of course, you speak with the President.

You have to consult the President. You have to listen to the President. I keep his schedules, mine and his. You need to know him so you will know if he is serious and not serious. It’s a tough job. You have to endlessly respond to issues,” he describes.

“Sometimes I stay with him until 3 a.m. So there is at least one day a week na talagang bangag ako (when I am really groggy) because I’ve only had two hours’ sleep,” he laughs.

“The President is his own PR machine. I only speak for him, but he handles his own PR.

Kalkulado niya ang pulso ng bayan (He’s got his finger on the public pulse). I don’t think anything is spontaneous with him. He knows how to deal with the public; he knows how to deal with the media. If at all, I am learning from him, not the other way around. He doesn’t need anyone as far as communication is concerned.”

Under the Duterte administration, Roque’s bill on free lunch for public school children and free education became law and, of course, the Universal Health Care, the bill he passed before he left Congress.

“I think it’s a matter of perspective. For me, I was able to accomplish much more working within the system than when I was an activist. What I have done in the past, I think, also pushed for the cases to be heard and pursued. But when it comes to working for rights in a more systematic way, I feel that I have been more effective working within government,” Roque muses.

“Until now, I don’t have an EO (executive order). I have no staff, I have no budget. What happened was the position was divided into three. It saved me also when it came to intrigues. I absolutely have no budget. I rely on the Office of the President for budget,” he discloses.

The former UP professor, who says he misses life in the academe very much and his “long walks” in the campus, is obviously determined to perform his duties with as much gusto as he has always put in all his causes.

“I miss the UP campus. I miss the long walks and I miss my colleagues in UP, many of whom hate me now,” he shares.

Since working with Mr. Duterte, Roque has learned “patience, patience, patience. I learned to be patient with my fellow workers and with the system.”