Roque vows to continue defending Duterte from critics if he becomes senator

Former presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. on Wednesday vowed to continue defending President Rodrigo Duterte from his critics if he clinches a Senate seat in the 2019 mid-term elections.

"Mas masusupalpal ko na ang mga kumokontra sa Senado laban kay Presidente. Ang pangako ko po, huwag na kayong mag-ingay sa Senado dahil pag ako po'y nabigyan ng mandato eh mas matindi po ang depensang gagawin natin sa Presidente diyan po sa Senado," Roque told reporters after filing his Certificate of Candidacy (COC).

"Ang Presidente po suportado po natin. Siya po ang pinakamagaling na Presidente sa kondisyon ng bayan. Siya po ay may political will para magkaroon ng tunay na pagbabago, wala pong kuwestiyon diyan. Suportado natin ang Presidente at mga kaalyado ng Presidente sa Senado," Roque said.

Roque said he was pleased to have served the Chief Executive because that way, he was also able to serve the public.

"I do not regret even for a single minute that I became a spokesperson. It was an honor to serve the President because by serving him, I serve the people," he said.

Roque, a human rights lawyer, will run under the People's Reform Party (PRP) of the late Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago.

In March, Roque revealed his intention to run for senator despite lacking the political machinery to support a nationwide campaign.

Weeks before the start of the filing of candidacy for the 2019 polls, however, Duterte said Roque should not run because he will not win in the Senate race. Instead, the President reportedly offered him a post at the soon to be revived Office of the Press Secretary.

Duterte ended up putting Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo as Roque's replacement.

Roque, for his part, said on Monday he will instead be running for a congressional seat in the 2019 elections under the the Luntiang Pilipinas party-list, as advised by President Rodrigo Duterte, only to take it back and pursue his original plan of trying out for the Senate.

Roque was a former human rights lawyer, international law professor and a representative of Kabayan party-list before he was appointed as presidential spokesperson in October 2017. — MDM, GMA News