JUSTICE Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla yesterday said he is confident that Dutch authorities will reject the bid for political asylum of former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque as he is facing criminal complaints, not mere political allegations, in the Philippines.
Remulla made the remarks when asked for an update on the government’s effort to bring Roque home after a court in Angeles City, Pampanga issued a warrant of arrest against him and 48 others for qualified human trafficking in connection with their alleged involvement in the operation of a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operation (POGO) hub in Porac, Pampanga raided by the authorities last year.
Roque, who is seeking political asylum in the Netherlands, has denied involvement in the alleged irregularities and said the Marcos administration is supposedly out to get him for his steadfast defense of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
He resurfaced in the Hague last March after fleeing the country after Duterte was arrested and surrendered to the custody of the International Criminal Court.
“I believe that they will not tolerate the commission of crimes that are being charged here. And they see that the justice system is working in this sense, that we have given due process to him to answer. He answered the complaint in Abu Dhabi. We considered everything. And the panel of prosecutors was able to reach a conclusion that he was to be charged,” Remulla said.
Remulla said, though, that the Philippine government will respect the asylum process.
At the same time, the DOJ chief said his office will write a letter to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) seeking the cancellation of Roque’s passport.
“Hindi ko pa na-pipirmahan but we will do that. We will write a letter for that purpose,” said.
He said the cancellation of Roque’s passport would turn him into an undocumented alien, but he might not be immediately deported because of his asylum application.
“He will be an undocumented alien, pag wala siyang asylum at na-cancel ang passport niya he will be deported,” he said.
Asked as to Roque’s statement that he could not be arrested while his asylum bid is on process, Remulla reiterated that he is confident Dutch authorities will not tolerate Roque’s crimes.
“I’m sure that the asylum application will have to be finished before it’s acted upon in the Netherlands but we know that the Netherlands will not tolerate the commission of crimes that are being charged in this case. Asylum kasi is a special process. Hayaan mo matapos muna (We’ll wait until the process is completed),” he said.
The DOJ chief also said that they will eventually ask the assistance of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to issue a red notice against Roque.
“We will do that, of course. We will do that,” he said.
Earlier, DOJ Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty said seeking the help of the Interpol is one of the channels to serve the warrant on Roque.
“It’s a possibility. In fact, we’ve already triggered the process to request for a red notice from the Interpol,” Ty said.
“And hopefully, if it’s granted to us, it will come out and we’ll see. We’ll see how it goes. So if upon implementation, if the government of the Netherlands will allow the application of the principle of non-refoulement,” he added.
Last week, DOJ Assistant Secretary Mico Clavano said the department is exploring diplomatic and international legal channels to enforce the arrest warrant against Roque.
