The word war between Senator Leila de Lima and Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque rages on as Roque advised the detained former justice secretary on Thursday to quit her verbal attacks against him.
“My advice to Leila de Lima, if you do not want to hear anything from me, stop saying things about me. Because remember, I am free, and I can reply. You’re in jail,” Roque said in an interview with ABS CBN News Channel.
De Lima, a known critic of the Duterte administration, has been in detention at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center in Camp Crame since Feb. 24, 2017 for drug related charges.
Roque said he will only be making statements against De Lima in response to whatever she would say about him.
“I only respond when she says something about me. She can’t take it against me if I respond to anything that she says,” Roque said.
“I leave her alone as a matter of policy because she’s in jail. But stop attacking me. Stop expecting I will not hit back when you do attack me,” he added.
The word war between the Palace spokesperson and the detained senator began when Roque greeted De Lima a “happy anniversary” when she marked her first year in detention.
READ: Malacañang greets De Lima a ‘happy anniversary’ in jail
De Lima then lashed back at Roque saying the Palace spokesman “has sold his own identity in exchange for a possible Senate run.”
In his retort, Roque wished that De Lima be “detained for the rest of her life.”
“May you spend the rest of your life in jail. Goodbye,” Roque said in a Palace briefing on Tuesday.
READ: Roque wishes De Lima a lifetime in jail
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