Gabriela challenges Roque to speak up on plight of comfort women

Gabriela Women's Party on Thursday dared Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque to speak up on the issue of recognizing the plight of Filipino comfort women who were raped and forced into sexual slavery during the Japanese occupation.

In a media forum, Gabriela party-list Representative Arlene Brosas said that they expect Roque to react to the statement of the Department of Foreign Affairs, questioning Manila City Hall officials and the National Historical Commission of the Philippines why a seven-foot bronze statue of a "comfort woman" was erected along Roxas Boulevard.

"Ine-expect talaga namin na magsalita siya (Roque) kaugnay nito, actually ang akala nga namin magre-react na siya nung time na nagbigay (ang) Department of Foreign Affairs nung sulat eh. So siguro maganda i-push talaga siya na magsalita in public about this, baka kailangan niyang sabihin  upfront," Brosas said at the weekly Pandesal forum at Kamuning Bakery in Quezon City.

"Hinihintay niya na lang siguro na magsalita yung iba pang sectors at iba pang personalities ...but then, we are expecting na mag-react siya kaugnay dito."

For her part, Gabriela secretary general Joms Salvador said that they do not expect so much as Roque "flip-flopped" on the issue of Human Security Act.

Roque supposedly forgot his background as a human rights lawyer.

"Sa issue ng comfort women, siguro Gabriela will find a very little promise na may sasabihin siyang positive," Salvador said.

Likewise, she said that Roque made an almost 180-degree turnaround on the Human Security Act, which she said Roque had opposed and deemed "very dangerous" as legitimate organizations could be tagged as terrorists for opposing government policies.

"Kasama pa nga siya sa mga petitioners doon sa paglaban doon sa human security act pero nung nandito na siya kay Pangulong Duterte, parang nakalimutan ni Atty. Harry Roque yung kanyang stance for human rights at ang issue ng mga comfort women."

Moreover, she said that for as long as the President Rodrigo Duterte does not make a "concrete" and "clear" position on the issue of comfort women, Roque would not have a definite stance on it either.

Gabriela said that the statue, which was inaugurated in December last year, had stirred controversy, with some groups asking for its removal. 

Japan Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Seiko Noda has conveyed her "deep regrets" to President Duterte over the comfort woman statue.

While Duterte has not made a comment on Noda's concern, the the Japanese official was quoted in an article as saying that "she believes the Philippine President understood her concerns." —LBG, GMA News