Former presidential spokesperson lawyer Harry Roque denies ownership of a house in an exclusive subdivision in Tuba, Benguet which was raided by law authorities over the weekend, during the 5th public hearing of the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality Monday, July 29, 2024. Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau/File 

MANILA — Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque on Tuesday asked why former President Rodrigo Duterte was detained by the International Criminal Court in The Hague in the Netherlands, six months ahead of the confirmation of charges against him.

"Bakit inaresto muna ang dating Pangulong Duterte na hindi sinasabi kung ano ‘yong ebidensya laban sa kanya?" he asked in a Facebook live video. 

“Sanay tayo sa sistema sa Pilipinas na bago maisampa ang kaso sa korte, ida-daan sa piskalya. At nando'n na ang lahat ng ebidensya. Pagdating sa hukuman sa Pilipinas, ang laman ng files ng piskal e 'yung mga ebidensya na nakalap sa piskalya," he explained.

Ex-president Duterte confident he has 'no case' to answer at ICC, says VP Sara

Roque said that in the Philippine legal system, evidence is typically presented before an arrest is made, while he suggested that the ICC seems to operate in the opposite manner.

He also expressed concerns about what he claimed as racial bias within the ICC, arguing that it appears to target leaders from developing countries.

“Walang puti po na nalilitis sa ICC. Tayong may mga kulay lang ang pinagkakait ng karapatan ng kalayaan bago pa malaman kung anong ebidensya,” he alleged.

"Pumasok sa kulungan ang dating presidente [March] 12. Ang tinakdang panahon para doon sa confirmation of charges, [September 23]. Tama ba 'yan na sa anim na buwan nakakulong na 'yung tao [kahit] hindi pa tayo sigurado kung mayroong probable cause laban sa kaniya?" he said.

"Nakikita natin dito ha sa proceedings ng ICC, basta ikaw ay Pilipino o itim, kulong ka muna. Wala kaming pakialam maski hindi mo pa alam o nakikita ang ebidensya laban sa 'yo," he claimed.

Duterte, who was arrested on March 12, is set to face a confirmation of charges hearing on September 23, 2025—a six-month delay that Roque finds unacceptable. 

"Paano mo maibabalik ‘yong anim na buwan na nawala sa buhay ni Presidente Rodrigo Roa Duterte?" he asked.

“Nawala ang kalayaan niya sa anim na buwan, and yet hindi niya alam kung anong basehan ng kanyang pagkakakulong,” Roque said.

Duterte was arrested on March 11  on his arrival from Hong Kong at the request of the International Criminal Court (ICC) as part of its probe into his "war on drugs" that defined his presidency.

The ICC warrant for Duterte's arrest said that as president, the 79-year-old Duterte created, funded, and armed death squads that carried out murders of purported drug users and dealers.

He was brought to The Hague in the Netherlands on the same day he was arrested.

Duterte on March 14 appeared via video link before ICC judges.

Duterte camp insists to SC: Former President 'abducted'

The ICC ordered this week the prosecution and defense to disclose the amount and types of evidence they plan to present, together with timeline. 

The prosecution should submit by April 4 its written pieces of evidence and witness records, while the defense will have until April 11 to answer the presented evidences and call their own witnesses during the confirmation hearing.

'PAANO MABABALIK 'YUNG ANIM NA BUWAN?'

Roque said the confirmation of charges was made in the past to convince countries like the United States to join ICC, since the latter's chief prosecutor is not chosen the same way chief justices were chosen in different nations.

Rodrigo Duterte at ICC: What happens next?

He claimed that if the court eventually finds no probable cause to convict Duterte, none could rewind the wasted time spent in the waiting game.

While recognizing ICC's duty to prosecute individuals who allegedly committed grave crimes, Roque said it should only intervene when a country's local court does not function or if the country has monarchy as its form of government.

Roque initially expressed interest join Duterte's defense team, but Vice President Sara Duterte confirmed the former would no longer be part of the former leader's legal team.

The vice president said that Kaufman, a British-Israeli lawyer, will be her father's lead counsel.

"Hindi pa kasi na-establish kung ano yung basis ng pag-stay niya dito sa Netherlands and we don't want complications ba," Vice President Duterte said.

Roque is seeking asylum in the Netherlands amid an arrest warrant for contempt issued by the House of Representatives due to his repeated failure to attend the Quad Comm's inquiry into the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators. 

Roque admits 'interest' in corporation that owns raided Benguet house

However, his application is facing opposition as Philippine-born Dutch citizen Joel Vega wrote a formal letter and started an online petition against it, saying "there are no well-founded reasons for his claim of political persecution in the Philippines."

RELATED VIDEOS: