Former Pres. Harry Roque Speaks on US Freeze Order on ICC, Judges’ Assets
HARRY ROQUE – Duterte’s former Spokesman claimed that the US freeze order on the International Criminal Court (ICC) assets may allegedly affect the former President’s food and medicine.
The International Criminal Court rejected the interim release plea of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte. The 80-year-old former Chief Executive is detained under the custody of the ICC in The Hague, Netherlands for 9 months now.
Duterte is faced with three (3) counts of murder as alleged “crimes against humanity” filed by the ICC prosecutors. All three (3) judges initially turned down the interim release plea citing the former President as a flight risk. His camp filed an appeal and it was recently disapproved by the foreign court. He was represented by his lawyer, Nicholas Kaufman, at the ICC hearing.
The Duterte family immediately released a statemen on the ICC denying the interim release plea of the former President. According to the former Chief Executive’s family, they accept the ruling of the foreign court “with open hearts”.
Vice Pres. Sara Duterte is currently in The Hague, Netherlands to visit former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte. All of the former President’s children were in the Philippines when the ICC held a hearing over the interim release plea. It is still unsure if all of them will spend Christmas abroad to visit their father.
Recently, Duterte’s former spokesman, Harry Roque, spoke about the former President and the US freeze order on the assets of the ICC and its judges and prosecutors. Through a video posted on social media, Roque explained how the order can allegedly affect the foreign court even if it has no assets in U.S. as well as the detainees including former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte.
“Hindi ko alam kung paano ngayon ang ginagawa ng ICC para makatanggap ng pondo sa kanyang operasyon ng walang swift account. Alam naman natin na ang pondo ng ICC nanggagaling sa mga miyembrong bansa,” Duterte’s former Spokesman said.
Harry Roque also took to social media another post wherein he claimed that the U.S. freeze order on the assets of the ICC and its prosecutors and judges might allegedly affect the food and medicine supplies for former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte. According to him, the alleged solution is to abolish the foreign court so the former Chief Executive can return to the Philippines.
Previously, amid the supposed massive corruption issue in the Philippines, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte claimed that former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte is allegedly “frustrated” over the flood control corruption in the country.