(June 20, 2025) – Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said on Friday that he had urged former president Rodrigo Duterte not to come back to the Philippines last March because of the risk of arrest by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Speaking in a Facebook livestream, Roque recalled conversations with the former president in early 2025 before Duterte’s arrest.
“Ako ang nag-orchestrate [ng plano na huwag pabalikin si Duterte sa Pilipinas],” said Roque.
“So nung nagpunta na sa Hong Kong si Tatay Digong, ako mismo ang nagresearch kung meron nga bang warrant of arrest. Tinawagan ko ‘yung mga estudyante ko na naglilingkod ngayon sa NSO. Sinabi nila na walang opisyal na komunikasyon na pinapadala ang hukuman (ICC) sa embahada ng Pilipinas dito sa Netherlands.”
Roque said he had warned the Duterte camp as early as 2023 that ICC investigators were already in the Philippines, noting that some of the lawyers representing the victims in the ICC were his former law partners.
Duterte was in Hong Kong in early March to lead the campaign of PDP-Laban’s senatorial bets.
Despite his advice and pressure from allies, Roque claimed that Duterte was determined to return to the Philippines and dismissed suggestions to seek asylum in Hong Kong amid threats of arrest warrant from ICC.
Roque pointed out that Hong Kong was not a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of Refugees and Asylum Seekers, making it an unsuitable option.
“Desidido talaga siyang umuwi. Pero ako, tatalian ko sana si Tatay Digong. Matigas talaga ang ulo ko. Itatali ko siya kung kinakailangan dahil ang kailangan ko lang naman isa, dalawa, tatlong araw hanggang maihain ang petisyon sa Korte Suprema,” added Roque.
Duterte was arrested on March 11 after the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) issued a diffusion notice, prompting Philippine authorities to act on the ICC’s arrest warrant. He is currently detained at the ICC’s custodial facility in The Hague, Netherlands.
Duterte is facing charges of crimes against humanity over his deadly war on drugs, which reportedly left 30,000 dead.
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