MANILA - Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Wednesday said he has been given a concurrent appointment as President Rodrigo Duterte's adviser on human rights.

In a statement, Roque said that in his new role, he “will take steps to ensure the Philippines discharges its obligations in protecting and promoting human rights, especially the right to life.”

Roque, a lawyer who has represented human rights victims, is the first to hold the position under the Duterte administration, which has been criticized for supposedly disregarding human rights in his campaign against illegal drugs.

In his first State of the Nation Address, Duterte had said human rights should not be an excuse to “destroy the country.”

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Duterte’s war on drugs has drawn international criticism, as the death toll from legitimate police operations has reached 3,800 since July 2016. Officials have said drug suspects slain had put up violent resistance.

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Human rights groups, however, believe the real count in the war on drugs, including killings carried out by so-called “vigilantes”, has reached about 13,000.

In accepting his appointment as spokesperson earlier this month, Roque had said he would further push for his human rights cause. In joining the administration, he said, "I am not condoning the violence surrounding the government’s anti-drug campaign, nor do I intend to further the same."

• Roque says to address PH human rights issues as Duterte spokesperson

Roque announced his new role in light of fresh criticism from the United Nations over Duterte’s remarks against UN special rapporteur Agnes Callamard.

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The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights’ spokesperson Rupert Colville said Tuesday the international body "deplores" Duterte's insults and threats of physical violence against Callamard, citing the President's most recent threat to slap the rapporteur.

• Duterte warns Callamard on probing anti-drug war: I will slap you

Responding to Colville’s statement, Roque said the UN official should “do well not to judge the colorful language the President is known for, but by what he stands for and the values he holds dear.”

“We need to point that the President’s remarks on Callamard were addressed to a Filipino audience who are used to the Chief Executive’s unorthodox rhetoric,” Roque said in a statement.

Roque also insisted that Callamard is not a competent and impartial rapporteur on the anti-drug campaign.

“The way she conducted herself does not befit her office. Lest we forget, she came unannounced to the country in May this year even while the terms of her official visit were still being finalized. And she did so using an event organized by a group that was extremely critical of the administration and presenting herself as a resource person for that event," he said.

"Her arrogance in going through the back-door not only went against protocol, but is deeply insulting."

The Philippine government last year invited Callamard, but she declined due to conditions set by the government, including a public debate with Duterte, which she said would break UN protocol.

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She visited Manila in May to attend an academic conference on drug-related issues and grace the Commission on Human Rights' 30th-anniversary celebration.

The UN said Callamard has been subjected to "a tirade of online abuse, including physical threats, during what appears to be a prolonged and well-orchestrated trolling operation across the internet and on social media."

The presidential spokesperson, meanwhile, reiterated Duterte’s offer to host a human rights summit in the Philippines to show that “this administration welcomes disinterested and apolitical human rights experts in the country.”