MANILA, Philippines — After reportedly staying in Dubai to evade an arrest order of the House quad committee, former presidential spokesman Harry Roque yesterday said he would seek asylum in the Netherlands.
“I’m filing formally for asylum here in the Netherlands. As soon as my application of asylum is received, I do have the rights to non-refoulement,” he said at a press briefing.
Non-refoulement is a principle of international law prohibiting states from deporting a person “at risk of persecution or harm” to their country of origin.
Roque is facing arrest following a House probe into his alleged involvement in Philippine offshore gaming operators.
POGOs have been banned amid reports of criminal activities and suspected links to Chinese espionage operations.
Roque, who failed to secure a seat in the UN International Law Commission in 2021, said the Dutch government cannot deport him back to the Philippines until after the investigation on his asylum application.
“I am confident that I can prove political persecution through unjust prosecution,” he said.
“The arrest warrant that Congress issued is for a resource (person) to attend a hearing and submit documents. I did not commit any crime that served as basis for the legislature’s issuance of a warrant of arrest,” he claimed.
Roque maintained that he is not a fugitive, saying it only applies to wanted persons based on a court-issued arrest warrant.
He cited his pending petition before the Supreme Court, wherein he questioned the constitutionality of the quad comm’s order directing him to submit documents.
The petition is still pending.
Roque is the subject of several Department of Justice investigations, although no criminal case has been filed against him before a local court.
Malacañang earlier dared Roque to return to the Philippines to face the House probe.
Roque, however, said he “cannot come home.”
“I have to defend my president as a member of the list of counsel of the ICC (International Criminal Court) in The Hague,” he said.
Former president Rodrigo Duterte has been placed under the custody of the ICC, facing charges of crimes against humanity stemming from his bloody war on drugs.
Roque is one of five Filipinos included in the ICC’s accredited list of counsels.
Moves to arrest him are part of the Marcos administration’s efforts to deprive Duterte of legal representation, he claimed.
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