Philippine government will block Harry Roque’s asylum bid – DOJ

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Roque was recently charged by prosecutors with qualified human trafficking for his alleged involvement with a Pampanga POGO

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine government will block the asylum application of former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, a Department of Justice (DOJ) official announced.

Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty said DOJ chief Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla had given him instructions to deal with Roque’s case.

“The instructions from the secretary directly to me is that we will notify the government of the Netherlands once the arrest warrant is issued. We don’t want to preempt any warrant of arrest issued by the court because that is up to the court, but the moment it does, we will duly notify the government of the Netherlands of this development,” Ty said in an interview with ABS-CBN News on Tuesday, April 29.

On April 28, prosecutors charged Roque with qualified human trafficking at an Angeles City Regional Trial Court in Pampanga for his alleged involvement in the raided scam farm in Porac, Pampanga. His case is non-bailable.

Apart from him, Cassandra Ong and 48 others who are allegedly owners, officers, or key employees of the Whirlwind mother company and the Lucky South 99 Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator, were also charged.

Roque has applied for asylum in The Hague, Netherlands as he avoids arrest. However, some experts have already said that his asylum request might be standing on shaky ground. 

The former spokesperson is up for arrest because of a House of Representatives order. After his initial detention in 2024, he was ordered arrested again in September 2024 after he was cited in contempt due for snubbing the chamber’s subpoena.

He made a public appearance on March 14 in The Hague, Netherlands, where former president Rodrigo Duterte is detained due to a crimes against humanity case with the International Criminal Court.

If the Angeles court issues an arrest warrant against Roque, this would add to the long list of grounds to bring the former Duterte official back to the country.

Once the court issues a warrant, the Philippine government can seek the Interpol’s help to issue a red notice. This will notify Interpol members to facilitate the arrest of a person listed under the red notice. The Netherlands is an Interpol member-country. – Rappler.com