From Legal Hawk… to Spox… to the Senate

“The life of the law has not been logic; it has been experience.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes

The year 2020 has been a tough one. A volcanic eruption, a deadly virus, job losses, and mental health problems due to isolation haven’t made things easy. No one can blame Filipinos for being more pessimistic than any other point in history, as we face another year of uncertainty. It must have been a hundred times as tough for a Presidential Spokesperson who bears the brunt of the public’s criticism for his boss’ actions. His words are always up to interpretation, which can lead to a notable outburst. Exacerbating this challenge is the prevalent climate of misinformation and disinformation often disguised as criticism. Add in the fact that he worked for a populist president known to utter crass and controversial statements and he pretty much has an impossible task at hand.

Yet, Atty. HERMINIO LOPEZ ROQUE JR is made of sterner stuff. A seasoned legal luminary, an eloquent speaker and a feisty human rights lawyer, he is one of the easily recognizable public intellectuals in the Philippines. He graduated from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Political Science in 1986; and later, pursued law at the University of the Philippines, after which, received his Master of Laws degree with Merit, from the London School of Economics in 1996.

He taught law for 15 years at the University of the Philippines College of Law, specializing on Public International Law, Contemporary Developments in International Law, Transportation and Public Utilities. He was also director of the college’s Institute of International Legal Studies.

Before entering politics, he was already a familiar face, representing victims in many high-profile cases through an organization he helped found, the Center for International Law Manila (Centerlaw). Through this advocacy group, Atty. Roque and his team represented victims in a number of public interest cases. Among these are Vinuya v. Executive Secretary where he represented surviving victims of mass rape, commonly referred to as “comfort women,” the Adonis case before the UNHRC questioning the Philippines’ criminal libel law, a direct challenge to the constitutionality of the libel law in the Philippines in the Cybercrime Prevention Act case, and in Ninez Cacho-Olivarez, et al v. Juan Miguel Arroyo, a class action suit in behalf of journalists against the First Gentleman’s indiscriminate filing of libel cases to harass journalists and to muzzle freedom of the press. He also represents 15 heirs of the victims of the Ampatuan Massacre in the multiple murder cases being tried before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court.

In 2005, Atty. Roque was admitted to practice before the International Criminal Court, the first Asian to do so, and the U.N. War Crimes Tribunal for Rwanda. He was also elected to the Governing Council of the Asian Society of International Law and the International Criminal Bar. In addition, he has argued before the Supreme Court on several occasions.

Among the cases that he argued before the high court were assailing Presidential Proclamation 1017 and General Order No. 5, placing the country under a State of Emergency partially unconstitutional for infringing on the constitutionally protected rights of free speech, peaceful assembly and freedom of the press. He is also among the five counsels allowed to argue specific issues raised against the Cybercrime Law. On another occasion, he represented the Integrated Bar of the Philippines in arguing that local government officials cannot deny applications for rally permits except on grounds that the conduct of the same will result in a clear and present danger to the state. He also helped secure for Boracay Foundation a Temporary Environmental Protection Order (TEPO) to stop the reclamation of 42 hectares of land in Caticlan due to the absence of studies and guarantees that it would not damage Boracay Island.

Atty. Roque had the distinction of having won the first ever granted petition for the writ of Amparo in favor of a journalist, as well as another petition for Amparo — the second application for writ of Amparo where the Court of Appeals issued protective orders.

No doubt, the public’s perception of Atty. Roque as a human rights champion got him the nod to represent the Kabayan Party-list, a Left-leaning organization which claims to speak for the marginalized sectors, including the disabled, senior citizens, Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), fishermen, farmers, and the poor. As Congressman, he was the principal author of the Universal Health Coverage Bill, which was passed on the third and final reading by the House of Representatives on September 6, 2017. He was also one of three representatives who endorsed the impeachment case against the former Comelec chairman, Andres Bautista.

Atty. Roque assumed the role of President Duterte's presidential spokesperson when he was appointed on November 6, 2017 until he resigned the following year to run for a seat in the House of Representatives under the Luntiang Pilipinas party-list. He later decided to run for senator under PRP but eventually withdrew after suffering from “unstable angina coronary disease.” He then returned as President Duterte's spokesperson in April of 2020. At the same time, he assumed a dual role of spokesperson for the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, amid the COVID-19 pandemic replacing Karlo Nograles.

On November 15, 2021, Atty. Roque filed his certificate of candidacy for the 2022 Senate election which automatically meant that he has resigned from his position as presidential and IATF spokesperson. A vocal supporter of Davao Mayor Sara Duterte, he claims that his decision to run for the Senate was due to the presidential daughter’s decision to run for vice president. “Babalik po tayo sa larangan ng pulitika, babalik po tayo sa Kongreso ng Pilipinas, doon po sa Kamara ng Senado. Nagpaalam na tayo kay Pangulong Rodrigo Roa Duterte at kay Mayor Sara Duterte para sa panibagong hamon na aking haharapin na mula sa inyong pagiging spox ay nais ko pong maging action man sa Senado. (We will go back to politics, to Congress of the Philippines, in the Senate. I've already bid goodbye to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and Mayor Sara Duterte for this new challenge that I will be facing from being your spokesperson to be an action man in the Senate),” he vigorously declared.

If the stars do align in his favor, the nation will be guaranteed to have a legal hawk and an action man in the Senate. I wish him the best of luck!