MANILA — Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Tuesday he took his oath as member of the Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP), the local party of Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Z. Duterte, as an “indication of support” for his boss’s daughter.
Roque earlier said he took oath as member of the HNP, which he described as the local party of President Rodrigo R. Duterte when he ran for Davao City mayor.
Duterte is currently chairman of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban). He ran for President under the PDP-Laban in 2016.
Roque said he was aware that Hugpong ng Pagbabago is a regional party, which meant that he could not be a voting member since he is a registered voter in Quezon City and not Davao City.
“Baka hindi ako naging member ng Hugpong ng Pagbabago (Maybe I’m not a member of Hugpong ng Pagbabago)?” he quipped.
“I knew that it was a regional party. I guess the oath was an indication that I support the regional party of Mayor Sara even if I’m not entitled to be a voting member of the party because I’m not a registered voter of the Davao area,” Roque said.
He also explained that despite him not being “relevant” to the party, he felt it necessary to support his boss’s daughter.
“I think in essence, Hugpong is, whether be it the same party or different party, in essence it’s the same Hugpong local party of the President. I know it’s a local party, I know it’s a regional party, I know I’m from Metro Manila, so for all purposes, it’s my expression of support knowing that I may not be relevant to the party anyway because I’m not from there,’ Roque said.
“Wala namang mawawala (There’s nothing to lose). She is the daughter of my boss, why will I not support her?” he added.
Roque has kept mum on plans he was running for senator in the 2019 mid-term elections.
Earlier asked if the Hugpong ng Pagbabago will endorse him, he said he will leave everything to God.
“Ako po ay nagdadasal pa rin, bahala po ang Panginoon. Paulit-ulit kong sinasabi, dati po ako ay hamak na aktibista. Hindi ko po akalain na ako ay magiging Congressman (I’m still praying, it’s really up to God. I keep saying that, before, I was merely an activist, I did not expect to become a Congressman),” Roque said.
“Noong naging Congressman po ako, hindi ko aakalain na ako ay iimbitahin ni Presidente na maging miyembro ng Gabinete. So ngayon po patuloy po ang pagdadasal natin (When I became a Congressman, I didn’t expect to be invited by the President to be a member of the Cabinet. So now, I just keep praying),” he added. (Azer Parrocha/PNA)
