Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque (Screengrab from RTVM)
MANILA – Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Monday said will speak with President Rodrigo Duterte before deciding on whether or not to file his certificate of candidacy (COC) for senator in the May 2022 elections.
“Magkakausap muna po kami ni Presidente (I have to speak to the President) and I continue to consult with my family members and my supporters as well as seeking spiritual guidance on this decision,” he said in a press briefing in Angeles City, Pampanga.
Roque earlier said he is still “exploring options” but is also elated about being endorsed as among the guest senatorial candidates for the 2022 national elections of ruling party Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban).
Last July, Roque said he has to undergo physical check-up before making his final decision but later assured reporters in an interview that he is in “good health”.
He has repeatedly said that his priority, for now, is to serve the public as Duterte’s spokesperson to give them “actual and accurate” information, especially amid the pandemic.
Roque first became Duterte’s spokesperson in October 2017 until he resigned the following year to run for the Senate in 2019 despite Duterte saying he would not win.
He ran for senator under the People’s Reform Party of the late Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago but later withdrew his Senate bid after suffering from “unstable angina coronary disease”.
The filing of COCs for all elective positions for the upcoming elections is scheduled from Oct. 1 to 8 this year.
Besides Roque, PDP-Laban’s guest senatorial candidates are Public Works Secretary Mark Villar Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission chairperson Greco Belgica, and House Deputy Speaker Rodante Marcoleta.
The PDP-Laban’s official senatorial candidates include Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo, Transport Secretary Arthur Tugade, and Leyte Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez. (PNA)
