Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Monday said he is still exploring options whether to file his certificate of candidacy for senator in the May 2022 elections.
“I’m not yet running for the Senate. I’m exploring options, we have until October 18,” Roque said when asked in an ANC’s Rundown interview how his nomination for a seat at the International Law Commission (ILC) will affect his possible Senate run.
Roque is among the 11 contenders from the Asia-Pacific region nominated to be part of ILC, a United Nations (UN) expert panel that develops and codifies international law.
Roque, a former law professor at the University of the Philippines, was also asked if he was surprised that some of his fellow human rights lawyers and executive committee colleagues in UP Diliman have earlier raised objections to his nomination to the ILC.
“No, because I know them. I know their nature; they don’t wish anyone else to succeed so I just let them be. As far as UP is concerned, I think it’s very clear – the mandate of the Executive Committee of both Diliman and UP-IS don’t have anything to do with the nature of what they attempted to achieve,” he said.
Roque earlier lamented said it was “unfortunate” that some members of the state university would discredit his track record as “an advocate of human rights for more than 30 years.”
He said the criticism against him rooted “when he left the left”.
“It has its origins way back in ’83 when I left the left and they haven’t, I guess, forgiven me for leaving the left but you know as far as I‘m concerned I’ve moved on and everyone should move on from thinking that the government could be overthrown by encircling the countryside,” he said.
Roque believed that these criticisms were not fair, referring to his move to join the Duterte administration.
He said he was able to make policy out of his human rights advocacy under the Duterte administration.
“When I, in fact, became a member of Congress and I asked for the certification of urgency from President Duterte, I was able to make policy out of my human rights advocacy,” he said.
Roque said he has authored several laws promoting fundamental human rights.
“I authored Universal Healthcare, the right to life, right to health for everyone, free lunch for those who are malnourished, as far as our children are concerned, the rights of the child, free irrigation, free Wi-Fi. I have done so much more in promoting fundamental human rights compared to those who have opted to stay in the parliaments of the streets. That’s their right but I’ve moved on and I will keep on moving,” he said.
Source: Philippines News Agency
