Protests hound Harry Roque during Vancouver visit

Protests hound Harry Roque during Vancouver visit

Philippine lawyer Harry Roque, former spokesperson of ex-Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, speaks before Duterte supporters in a forum in Vancouver (Photo by Nestor Burgos)

By Nestor Burgos

VANCOUVER CITY—Protests hounded former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque when he met with supporters of former President Rodrigo Duterte here during the weekend.

Around 100 members of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) in Canada and solidarity organizations held a rally outside the venue condemning Roque as an “apologist and lapdog of a murderous regime.”

“Roque is not welcome here. He is a defender and complicit in the bloody crimes of the Duterte regime,” Jaela Villegas, Bayan Canada vice chair, said.

Roque was guest in a forum organized by the Canada chapter of Maisug at the Renfrew Community Centre on Saturday.

Among those who attended the forum were members of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, the church group founded by fugitive televangelist Apollo Quibuloy.

Quibuloy is on the wanted list of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for alleged crimes including sex trafficking of children. He has also evaded arrest in the Philippines for related criminal cases.

Protesters led by Bayan Canada and allied organizations in Vancouver denounce former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque for human rights violations under the administration of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (Contributed photos)

In his speech before about 150 supporters of the former president and his daughter Vice President Sarah Duterte, Roque repeatedly lambasted the President saying many who voted for Marcos were misled.

“Hindi lang po ako nabudol. Tumakbo po ako kasama ni Marcos Jr. (I was not only mislead. I even ran in the elections with him),” Roque who ran but lost for senator in the 2022 elections under the slate of the President and Vice President.

Roque also said hunger is at its worst under the Marcos administration, citing survey results.

But protesters accused Roque of hypocrisy saying there is no difference between the Duterte and Marcos administrations.

Luthfi Mawarid, chair of the Canada chapter of the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines, a global network of organizations, concerned about the human rights situation in the Philippines, pointed out that Roque defended the Duterte administration’s so-called “war on illegal drugs” which has been condemned by various human rights organizations.

The International Criminal Court is investigating Duterte and other top officials of his administration for alleged crimes against humanity for the death of at least 5,000 to an estimated high of 30,000 mostly poor suspected drug peddlers and users in police operations and by masked assassins from 2016-2022.

The protesters repeatedly shouted “Shame!” at Roque as he entered the venue and while he was speaking in one of the function rooms.

Roque dismissed the protesters as Leftist groups “allied” with the Marcos administration.

During his speech, he again referred to the protesters as “terrorist CPP-NPA” referring to the underground Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army.

Bayan condemned Roque for “red-tagging” the protesters. Red-tagging or red-baiting is the practice of labeling, without a judicial process, individuals or groups, usually government critics, as being members or affiliates of underground groups considered by the government as “terrorists”.

The Philippine Supreme Court in May this year ruled that individuals facing red-tagging face the risk of enforced disappearance and extrajudicial killing.

“By resorting to red-tagging protesters holding a peaceful, legal and legitimate rally, Roque is once again showing his true colors as a notorious enabler of human rights violations and tyrannical rule,” Villegas said.