Presidential spokesman Herminio “Harry” Roque did not get the necessary votes for the International Law Commission because of numerous objections raised by lawyers, here and abroad, to his application. And this year also he lost his chance to run for senator under the Hugpong party of presidential daughter, Sara Duterte-Carpio, who is running instead under the Lakas-CMD, for vice president.
FIRST his dream of running for senator was quashed when presidential daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio did not file a certificate of candidacy for president last October 1-8.
He was among the Senate bets in the slate of Hugpong ng Pagbabago, the regional party of Sara.
But Sara instead filed for a re-election which she also droppedas she is now vying for the vice presidency.
Then just today, Herminio “Harry” Roque’s application for the International Law Commission, which was greeted with much objection here and abroad by fellow Filipinos, was not accepted.
This, after he only got 89 votes from 191 states that had to choose from among 11 candidates in an election scheduled on Nov. 12.
By now, he must have gotten used to failures since in October 2017, when he first became spokesman of Duterte (replacing the more subtle Ernesto Abella) he was plucked out of Congress (while he was Kabayan partylist representative), only to be replaced a year later by Salvador Panelo.
He first wanted to run for senator under the People’s Reform Party in 2019 but had to give up his bid for health reasons.
And now his second try in running for the senate was again dashed when Duterte-Carpio decided not to file a COC for president last October.
Then came the biggest blow—his application to the International Law Center did not pass the required number of votes from member-states.
'Vehement objection'
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan – USA, which staged a protest last month at an upscale New York City restaurant where Roque was dining with representatives of several foreign missions, welcomed Roque’s loss.
“We celebrate the UN vote today as a victory of the people’s movement to prevent the fascist Duterte government from expanding its tyrannical influence in the international arena,” Nina Macapinlac of Bayan – USA said in a statement.
Less than a week before the elections to the ILC, 152 lawyers wrote to nearly 200 Permanent Missions and Member States at the United Nations General Assembly to register their "vehement objection" to Roque’s candidacy for the international law panel.
They noted that Roque has defended and justified his principal, President Rodrigo Duterte, who is now under investigation by the International Criminal Court for allegations of crimes against humanity over his administration’s brutal campaign against illegal drugs.
The ILC was instrumental in the creation of the ICC, which Roque has repeatedly tried to discredit amid its prosecutor’s ongoing investigation into the “war on drugs.”
Prior to this, the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, also wrote to member-states of the United Nations to say that Roque’s nomination to the ILC is “inappropriate and unacceptable.”
Among the notable signatories of the letter is detained Sen, Leila de Lima, a fierce critic of President Rodrigo Duterte.
The lawyers noted that Roque has defended and justified his principal Duterte, who is now under investigation by the International Criminal Court for allegations of crimes against humanity over the bloody "war on drugs."
They said that "as a lawyer, [Roque] is supposed to be a purveyor of facts and the truth and should uphold the administration of justice, a role he has sacrificed in exchange for his blind loyalty to a strongman president."
They said they fear that Roque will bring that "blind loyalty" to the ILC.
The UN General Assembly could elect Roque to the ILC as one of eight representatives from Asia-Pacific states to sit for five years beginning Jan. 1, 2023.
The ILC was instrumental in the creation of the International Criminal Court as it helped draft the statute that created the tribunal that tries genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression.
Undermining international mechanisms
The lawyers said of the president's spokesman: "Quite incongruous for a professed international law expert, he has openly undermined international mechanisms on accountability like the [International Criminal Court], the UN Human Rights Council, and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights."
"As fellow lawyers, we are scandalized by his spins and reinvention of basic legal principles and concepts in his zealousness to repackage President Duterte’s questionable legal pronouncements pronouncements of questionable legal and constitutional bases," they added.
They also noted that Roque has "rationalized extrajuidicial killings" and "tolerated weaponization of the law against activists, dissenters and the opposition."
They also accused the former human rights lawyer of red- tagging those who sought to oppose his nomination.
Among the signatories of this letter to the ILC are former law deans Pacifico Agabin and JV Bautista, former Solicitor General Joel Cadiz, former Reps. Neri Colmenares (Bayan Muna) and Erin Tañada (Quezon City) and former Integrated Bar of the Philippines president Ade Fajardo.
Reps. Edcel Lagman (Albay) and Carlos Zarate (Bayan Muna), National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers president Edre Olalia and law professor Howard Calleja also signed the letter.
The Free Legal Assistance Group also sent at least two letters to the ILC, expressing their objection to Roque’s nomination to sit in the panel. Roque’s nomination also earned objection from the University of the Philippines, Diliman where he obtained his law degree and taught constitutional law and public international law for 15 years.
Outside the legal profession, bloggers, content creators, artists, influencers and Filipino social media users also wrote to the ILC and other representatives to the United Nations to signify their opposition to Roque’s bid for a seat in the panel.
Successful candidates
In a statement shortly after the elections, Roque said his candidacy for the international law body was a “challenging campaign” which he met “head on.”
“Unfortunately, we did not succeed,” he said. “I wish the new members of the ILC success, especially as they tackle challenging issues such as rising sea levels and vaccine equality — issues which I will continue to advocate for as well.”
The following candidates for the ILC were elected: Bimal Patel from India (163 votes); Vilawan Mangklatanakul from Thailand (162 votes); Masahiko Asada from Japan (154 votes); Hong Thao Nguyen from Vietnam (145 votes); Huang Huikang from China (142 votes); Lee Keun-Gwan from South Korea (140 votes); Andrea Mavroyiannis from Cyprus (139 votes) and Mukh-Orgil Tsend from Mongolia (123 votes).
Tags: #presidentialspox, #Herminio”Harry”Roque, #ILC, #internationalaw, #UN