Lawyer Harry Roque on Thursday said he had no regrets about wishing ex-senator Leila de Lima, who recently was set free on bail after nearly seven years, a lifetime in incarceration.
The spokesman of former President Rodrigo Duterte and de Lima had exchanged criticisms over policies during the previous administration, particularly on the government’s war on drugs, which the latter investigated in the Senate.
De Lima in 2017 was detained over alleged illegal drug trading in the New Bilibid Prison when she was still justice secretary under the Benigno Aquino III administration. She insists the charges were meant to silence her criticism against Duterte.
At one point, Roque told De Lima, “Happy anniversary on your first year of detention. May you spend the rest of your life in jail.”
When asked if he regretted the statement, especially now that De Lima could be acquitted in her third and last drug case, Roque told ANC:
“No… Because I heard the testimonies of the witnesses against her, and I am convinced as a lawyer [with] 32 years of experience that they were telling the truth.”