Roque says appointment as spokesperson surprised him

Nearly a week after he was appointed presidential spokesperson, Harry Roque Roque Jr. said that he is still in a state of surprise why President Rodrigo Duterte picked him unexpectedly for the position .

In an interview on "Unang Balita" on Thursday, Roque said that I was “surprised” by Duterte’s offer, adding that he was not always a Duterte supporter.

“So hindi ko po alam kung paano ko susuklian talaga, hindi ko alam kung ano talaga ang naibigay ko kay presidente. Kaya nga hanggang ngayon iniisip ko “naku, hindi ko alam kung mayroong mas karapatdapat sa posisyon na ito kaysa sakin.’”

He said that he will just focus on his job more than other things, like future political plans. This was also his response when asked to comment on his rumored plan to run for senator in the 2019 midterm polls.

“Sa akin po, ngayon, I want to do a very good job dito sa aking trabaho, at napakatagal pa po niyang eleksyon na niyan.”

President Rodrigo Duterte announced Roque's appointment on October 28.

In a speech Duterte reportedly endorsed Roque as a 2019 senatorial candidate, saying “He’s my senator.”

Roque is replacing calm and even-toned Ernesto Abella, who in his stint as presidential spokesperson had time and again scrambled to explain Duterte’s often controversial statements. 

Roque maintained he was “surprised” by Duterte’s offer of the spokesperson post, and responded to criticism that he was given it in exchange for his “support” during the election. He has not always been a Duterte supporter, he said. 

“Hindi ko po alam kung paano susuportahan dahil ako naman po ay medyo more or less independiente po ako sa kongreso, hindi naman lahat ng panukalang batas ay nasuportahan natin at pagkatapos, hindi tayo mula’t mulang supporter ni presidente,” he said, though he added that he would have joined the Duterte camp had the former Davao City Mayor announced his candidacy earlier.

“So hindi ko po alam kung paano ko susuklian talaga, hindi ko alam kung ano talaga ang naibigay ko kay presidente. Kaya nga hanggang ngayon iniisip ko “naku, hindi ko alam kung mayroong mas karapatdapat sa posisyon na ito kaysa sakin,’” he added.

He said he initially hesitated to take up the offer, given his expertise is in law and not in media work, but later took it up, citing as enough his experience representing journalists or their families. CenterLaw, the human rights organization he founded, advocates for the families of the victims of the Maguindanao Massacre.

Opposition figures did not take kindly Roque’s acceptance of his new post.

Former Solicitor-General Florin Hilbay, for his part, said he does not understand “what has happened” to Roque.

We fought GMA; battled for RH; protected free speech. I cannot understand what's happened to a dear friend & UPLaw colleague.

Why, Harry?

— florin hilbay (@fthilbay) October 27, 2017

Roque assured his “BFF” Hilbay that he has not changed.

“...Sa’kin po, wala pong nagbago sakin, ako pa rin po ito. Nanindigan po ako dati dahil may issue tungkol dun sa kung may mandato pa yung presidente natin, pero ngayon naman sa presidenteng ito, walang kaduda-duda po na suportado siya ng karamihan sa atin,” he said, adding service to the president is also service to the public.

He said he has been in favor of the administration’s war on drugs since its leadership was transferred from the police to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.

He also does not seem worried by the unpopular human rights record of the administration, saying the president, a lawyer and a public prosecutor who handled murder cases, will uphold human rights.

He cited the case of slain minor Kian Delos Santos, whose death “made clear” the president’s position on the war on drugs. Criminal charges have been filed against the policemen linked to the boy’s death.

'Hollow blocks'

Criticism is rife that Roque is a new addition to the line of the president’s men with occasionally vulgar mouths—Presidential Communications Chief Martin Andanar, after all, had said Duterte’s critics in the European Union are not having enough sex; and top lawyer Salvador Panelo had joked about “f—/king like an 18-year-old” in a foreign media interview.

Roque, like his predecessor Abella, declined to speak for the two.

But Roque has also had a sharp-tongued moment, soon after the announcement of his appointment, he was caught on video saying he would throw hollow blocks at detractors who would throw stones at the president.

In the Unang Balita interview, he explained he used the language he thought would be understood by the audience of the video: Duterte Die-hard Supporters (DDS), or the followers of Presidential Communications Operations Office Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson’s blog.

“Kinakailangan talaga iparating yung mensahe sa DDS na hindi lang tayo tagapagsalita ng presidente, kundi tayo’y poprotektahan din nating ang presidente,” he said.

He admitted to having a sharp tongue, but promised he would carefully watch his words.

“Ako po’y maanghang magsalita, pero ako naman po’y hindi nagmumura,” he said.

“Susubukan ko naman po talaga sa abot ng aking makakaya na paalalahanan ang aking sarili na ako’y isang abogado, naging propesor ng batas, at kinakailangang maging maingat sa pagsasalita, bagamat meron naman pong pagkakaiba doon sa pagiging makulay sa pananalita sa tingin ng iba ay magiging bastos,” he added.

Roque will hold his first-ever press briefing at Malacañang on Thursday, and he had a request for the Malacañang Press Corps: "Be gentle,” he said with laughs. —LBG, GMA News