Herminio "Harry" Lopez Roque Jr.

(Tagalog: [ˈrɔkɛ]; born October 21, 1966) is a Filipino

lawyer, politician, and former law professor serving as the Presidential Spokesperson of
President Rodrigo Duterte. He first served as Duterte's Presidential Spokesperson from 2017 to
2018 and was reappointed in April 2020. He previously served as the Party-list Representative of
KABAYAN from 2016 to 2017.

Roque taught constitutional law and public international law for 15 years at the University of the
Philippines College of Law.[2] Among the notable cases he handled are the Maguindanao
massacre and Jennifer Laude cases.

He was requested by President Rodrigo Duterte to be his presidential spokesperson, and on

October 27, 2017, Roque was officially appointed, replacing Ernesto Abella.[3] On November 22,
2017, he was designated presidential adviser for human rights concurrent with being the
presidential spokesperson.[4]

Roque is also a member of the Advisory Council of the Asian Society of International Law
(AsianSIL) and was president of AsianSIL from 2018 to 2019

Education
Roque received his Bachelor of Arts (economics and political science) from the University of
Michigan at Ann Arbor (1986), Bachelor of Laws from University of the Philippines (1990) and
Master of Laws with merits from the London School of Economics (1996).

Career
Lawyer

Through the advocacy group Center for International Law (Centerlaw), of which he was one of
the founders, Roque and his team represented victims of the 2009 Ampatuan massacre;[6] the
Malaya Lolas, victims of systematic rape and abuse by the Japanese Imperial Army;[7] the family
of the killed transgender Jennifer Laude;[8] and the family of the murdered environmental
advocate and media man Gerry Ortega of Palawan.[9]

Roque has argued before the Supreme Court on several occasions. On the Supreme Court
website, the retired Supreme Court Justice Antonio Eduardo B. Nachura identifies him "as
among those who have impressed him when they had argued before the Supreme Court".[10]

Among the cases that he argued before the high court were assailing Presidential Proclamation
1017 and General Order No. 5,[citation needed] 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[citation needed]. He is also among the five counsels
allowed to argue specific issues raised against the Cybercrime Law.[11] 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.[12]

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.[13] Roque won the first ever granted
petition for the writ of Amparo in favor of a journalist,[14] as well as another petition for Amparo
- the second application for writ of Amparo where the Court of Appeals issued protective orders.
[15]

He mentored and coached some of the UP College of Law moot teams that went on to win in
various competitions, including the 2015 Oxford Price Moot Court Competition in Oxford, UK,
where the team beat 91 others.[16] He also mentored the team that won prizes in the Red Cross
International Humanitarian Law Moot Competition held in Hong Kong on March 18, 2015,[17]
and the team that won the championship on March 11–12, 2005. In March 2012, Team
Philippines made it to the semi-finals of the 2012 Jessup International Law Moot Court
competition in Washington DC.[18]

Congressman

After becoming a congressman, Roque resigned as a member of the Center for International Law
(Centerlaw).[19] He was the principal author of the Universal Health Coverage Bill, which was
passed on third and final reading by the House of Representatives on September 6, 2017. Roque
defended the bill during the plenary debates.[20]

Roque was also one of three representatives who endorsed the impeachment case against the
former Comelec chairman, Andres Bautista.[21]

Presidential spokesperson

Roque assumed the role of President Duterte's presidential spokesperson on November 6, 2017.
[22]
According to Duterte, "To get the message clear, sabi ko, Harry will fit the... kasi medyo
malikot ang bunganga namin."[23] This translates to "To get the message clear, I said, Harry will
fit the... because we both have slightly naughty mouths."

In August 2018, in defense of Duterte's controversial suggestion that the high rates of rape in
Davao was caused by there being many attractive women there, Roque defended the president's
comments, saying that "it's more liberal in the South".[24]

Months after resigning from his post to run in the 2019 midterm elections, Roque once again
returned to his role as Duterte's presidential spokesperson, replacing Salvador Panelo, who also
replaced him in 2018.[25][26] In concurrent capacity as Presidential Spokesperson, Roque is also
the Spokesperson for the IATF.

On July 1, Roque was widely criticized for allegedly violating quarantine rules by visiting the
Ocean Adventure marine theme park in Subic Bay Freeport Zone. He explained that his trip was
not for leisure, as his main purpose of travel was to check on his family's business in Bataan: "I
asked if they [Ocean Adventure] were open. I said, 'Why not?' because they were near where I
was going." He also denied violating social distancing, saying: "I was only beside dolphins".[1]
The photos of Roque's visit were uploaded on Facebook by Ocean Adventure but were taken
down shortly. Roque has since apologized, but denied violating quarantine protocols: "Even
though I did not violate any regulation, I recognize that some were offended by the photos. To
those who were offended, my apologies. I am only human. My work has no weekends. So if a
break is needed, you do it whenever possible