Malacañang has reiterated that the legal actions against former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque are grounded entirely in evidence rather than political retaliation.
During a Tuesday press briefing, Communications Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro pushed back against Roque’s repeated claims that he is being targeted for political reasons.
“Even before, ang PCO, sinasabi naman po na ang paniniwala ng PCO ay wala pong batayan ang ginawang request ni Harry Roque na sinasabing political persecution lang ang ginagawa sa kanya,” Castro stated.
Castro emphasized that the former official faces serious, documented allegations across multiple fronts, citing complaints involving qualified human trafficking, land grabbing, and tax evasion.
“Maliwanag naman po ang mga kaso, hindi lang qualified human trafficking, meron pa po yatang nakabinbing kaso patungkol sa land grabbing at patungkol din po yata sa tax evasion,” she said.
The Palace official stressed that the public and the courts should focus on the factual record rather than narrative spin.
“So hindi ito political persecution, records ang nagsasalita rito, ebidensya ang nagsusumigaw,” Castro added.
The Exchange followed statements from Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla claiming that Austria had turned down Roque’s asylum request. Roque swiftly denied Remulla’s assertions.
“For the nth time, Secretary Jonvic Remulla has publicly claimed that my application for asylum in Austria has been denied. This is fake news,” Roque countered in a separate statement.