Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro stressed she did not say a fugitive should not be assisted by an official representing the Philippines, refuting former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque's statement.

In a Palace briefing on Wednesday, Jan. 14, Castro clarified that she did not tell Ambassador Luli Arroyo-Bernas not to help Roque.

She stressed that she was only saying "it would not look good to harbor a fugitive," thus, she stated that Bernas should give clarity about the 2023 photo of her and Roque so as to prevent any accusations.

"Iyan naman po kasi ang problema, mahirap po kasing magkaroon ng twisting of facts (That is precisely the problem, because it is really difficult when there is a twisting of facts)," Castro said.

The Palace official said if Roque only listened and watched her content in full, he would have understood the context of her statement.

According to Castro, when the photo circulated, she decided it would be best to personally speak with and ask Foreign Affairs Secretary Theresa Lazaro to clarify the photo, which was later verified to have been taken in 2023.

"Mismo sinabi natin na wala pong bagong larawan at huwag nating pahiran ng anumang akusasyon si Ambassador Luli Arroyo-Bernas pero ang sinabi po natin na bilang representative ng Pilipinas, hindi po magiging maganda kung magkakanlong ng fugitive (We explicitly said that there is no new photo and that we should not smear Ambassador Luli Arroyo-Bernas with any accusations. What we did say was that, as a representative of the Philippines, it would not look good to harbor a fugitive)," Castro explained.

Castro asserted that she was using the term "pagkakanlong" or "harboring" a fugitive.

"Sana naman po ay naintindihan niya kung ano ang ibig sabihin ng pagkakanlong –ang pagkakanlong po ay pagtatago sa isang fugitive. Hindi po natin sinasabi na dapat na huwag tulungan ang isang fugitive. Mas maganda po talagang tutulungan ang isang fugitive na makabalik sa Pilipinas (Hopefully he understood what ‘harboring’ means—harboring means hiding a fugitive. We are not saying that a fugitive should not be helped. It is actually better to help a fugitive return to the Philippines)," Castro said.

"Pag sinabi po natin na pagkakanlong, iyon po ay pagtatago, pagkukubli sa isang fugitive mula sa kamay ng batas dito sa Pilipinas. So, mas maganda po kay Harry Roque intindihin muna po ang buong video, panuorin niya at para po hindi naman po siya nagiging source palagi ng fake news (When we say ‘harboring,’ that means hiding or concealing a fugitive from the hands of the law here in the Philippines. So it would be better for Harry Roque to first understand and watch the entire video, so that he does not keep becoming a source of fake news)," Castro added.

Roque earlier said that Castro's statement "reflects a gross ignorance of the law, diplomatic practice, and the fundamental rights of Filipino citizens abroad."

"I categorically affirm that no Philippine diplomat is legally or ethically permitted to refuse assistance to a Filipino citizen based solely on unproven allegations. I call on Undersecretary Castro and all public officials to exercise careful consideration, accuracy, and respect for the rule of law when speaking about the rights of Filipinos abroad," Roque said.