Malacañang on Monday said former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque has failed to present any credible evidence to support his claim that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was “bangag” or under the influence of illegal drugs.
Instead, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro called on Roque to return to the country and face the accusations against him.
“Come home,” Castro said during a Palace briefing when she was asked her message for the former Palace official.
Roque earlier released a video on social media calling on Senator Imee Marcos, the President’s sister, to confirm if her brother was using illegal drugs.
Castro brushed off the allegation, saying there was nothing new about the so-called “polvoron video” that Roque was allegedly behind to depict the President as a drug user.
Vlogger Vicente Bencalo “Pebbles” Cunanan identified Roque as the source of the video that was presented during a House Tri-Committee hearing on the spread of fake news online.
Castro accused Roque of spreading disinformation.
“First of all, Atty. Harry Roque is now emerging as a fake news peddler,” Castro said.
“He’s the one alleged to have distributed the fake polvoron video. Up to now, he hasn’t proven anything — not even the evidence he presented to the Quadcom. And now he’s even asking others to help him gather proof,” she said.
“If he really had evidence, he wouldn’t need to ask for help,” she added.
The National Bureau of Investigation has filed charges of inciting to sedition against Roque and vlogger Claire “Maharlika” Contreras in connection with the “polvoron video.”
Roque resurfaced recently in The Hague following the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte by the International Criminal Court. He has applied for asylum in the Netherlands which has only added to the political intrigue surrounding his case.