Roque makes clear: Duterte needs law to accept compromise deal with Marcoses

ALL THAT GLITTERS. Christie’s auction house appraiser David Warren closely examines a neck piece from the Roumeliotes collection, one of a three-set jewelry collection seized from the Marcoses after the family fled to Hawaii following the Edsa People Power Revolution in 1986. The government has asked Christie’s and its rival, Sotheby’s, to appraise some 700 pieces of Marcos jewelry for a possible auction after being kept for almost 30 years in a Central Bank vault. (FILE PHOTO/EDWIN BACASMAS)

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque clarified on Thursday the “erroneous news crawler” that appeared on radio dzMM on Wednesday night.

Roque said the crawler read, “Roque: Pabor si Pang Duterte sa binuong kasunduan ni Lozano,” which was said to be anchored from a news item aired on ABS-CBN’s evening news program, TV Patrol.

“What I said during yesterday’s press briefing was that the Chief Executive needs a law authorizing him to enter into such agreement,” Roque, however, explained in a statement.

“There was also no instance in the briefing that I stated that an agreement had already been reached/formed,” he added.

During the Palace briefing on Wednesday, Roque said President Rodrigo Duterte’s hands were tied unless a law would be passed to authorize him to enter into a compromise agreement with the Marcoses.

Duterte had earlier said he was open to the possibility of a compromise agreement with the Marcoses on their alleged ill-gotten wealth.

“The President’s statement actually was that he is for it but he needs a law to authorize him to enter into one,” Roque said during Wednesday’s press briefing.

“So just to complete the Presidential position on the matter, while he’s for it, it appears that his hands are tied unless there is a law authorizing him to enter into such a compromise agreement,” he added.

The Marcoses, according to Roque, have denied that they gave Atty. Oliver Lozano the authority to represent the family.

READ: Palace: No deal with Marcoses on wealth, only a draft proposal

“The President, thus, cannot give his consent over a proposed agreement, which is not propounded by a legal representative or from someone with no authority from the Marcoses,” he said.       /kga