Harry Roque said that he’s in the United States for an official trip amidst pandemic.
HARRY ROQUE — President Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesperson said that he’s in the United States (US) for an official trip amidst the pandemic.
During the Presidential press briefing Tuesday, the Palace spokesman said that he’s in the United States for an official visit to the United Nations in New York for the UN International Law week.
According to him, he’s one of the officials from the Office of the President and delegation from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
“I am here in the United States for an official visit to the United Nations [in New York] for the UN International Law week. I am one of the officials from the Office of the President and [delegation from the] Department of Foreign Affairs,” Roque said. “My wife is with me, but on my account.”
The Palace spokesman had been nominated by the Philippine government for a seat in the International Law Commission (ILC), a UN body.
ILC was founded by the United Nations General Assembly in 1974 in order to initiate studies and to make recommendations for encouraging the progressive development of international law and its codification.
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The Presidential spokesperson cited his being a professor for international law at the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Law in Diliman for 15 years as one of his qualifications for the ILC post.
However, his bid had been opposed by the UP Diliman Executive Committee and the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG).
The UP Diliman Executive Committee argued that the Palace spokesman had a very poor track record of promoting, defending, and fulfilling human rights and the rule of law, especially during the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte in which he served as a Cabinet member.
FLAG, for its part, said that the Presidential spokesperson was unqualified for such a post due to his defense of extrajudicial killings committed by authorities amidst the anti-drug war as well as his belittling the competence of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in investigating those killings.
Roque has dismissed those oppositions, saying that they’re politically motivated.
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