Ex-PNP cop denied Canadian residency due to drug war involvement

March 14, 2025 | 1:21pm

MANILA, Philippines — A former officer of the Philippine National Police (PNP) was denied permanent residence in Canada due to involvement in former president Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs.

The final decision was made in January 2025, months before Duterte was arrested by Interpol and handed over to the ICC for crimes against humanity.

In an official decision from Canada’s Federal Court, former PNP officer Josue Limmong Ahuday was appealing the decision of the Immigration Division (ID) of Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board. The ID decided that Ahuday was inadmissible to the North American country due to his voluntary contribution to the war on drugs. 

Ahuday was a PNP officer from January 2012 to December 2021. He was assigned to the Jose Abad Santos Police Station in Manila. This station is a mere 10-minute drive to Tondo— a slum district that also saw its share of extrajudicial killings (EJK) during Duterte’s time. 

The former cop was assigned to his station’s Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU), where he participated in the police’s door-to-door operations. Door-to-door operations were included in the notorious Oplan Tokhang. 

Ahuday left the PNP in 2021 to move to Canada with his wife. He arrived in Canada that same year on a spousal open work permit, while his wife has been applying for permanent residence, with Ahuday as the dependent spouse.

In 2023, the Canadian Border Services Agency informed Ahuday that he had been reported as inadmissible to the country on the grounds of crimes against humanity. While Canadian officials did not state that Ahuday directly committed these crimes, they alleged he was complicit in systemic and widespread attacks against a civilian population.

According to the Canadian Federal Court’s decision, the ID said that Ahuday was “inadmissible to Canada”.

“There are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Ahuday participated in the Tokhang operations significantly and knowingly, as a police officer on a team in the drug enforcement unit of the PNP. He provided in depth knowledge of the anti-drug campaign, police operations in the drug enforcement unit (albeit he did not acknowledge any wrongdoing), and his team’s particular duties,” the Federal Court, citing the decision of the ID, stated. 

The ID also noted that Ahuday was inconsistent in his testimony regarding why he left the DEU. He initially stated that a reshuffle in positions was the reason, but later claimed he left due to concerns for his safety.

“The ID observed it was highly unlikely that the Applicant would have been unaware of deaths stemming from activities at his own station given the evidence,” the 

However, Ahuday appealed the decision to the Federal Court, arguing that the ID had made an error in judgment. He contended that while he was part of the PNP, he did not participate in any of the organization's crimes.

The Federal Court decision, penned by Judge Angus Grant, found that the ID did not make an error in its decision.  Grant dismissed Ahuday’s application for judicial review. 

“I believe this application for judicial review should be dismissed. The ID reasonably determined that Mr. Ahuday made a voluntary, knowing, and significant contribution to the crimes against humanity committed by the drug units of the PNP as part of President Duterte’s war on drugs, and is therefore is inadmissible to Canada,” Grant said. 

The Philippine government surrendered Duterte to the ICC on March 11.  Duterte’s drug war saw the deaths of at least 6,000 people, but human rights groups say that the number could reach as high as 30,000.