THE Department of Justice (DOJ) has formally sought the cancellation of the passport of former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque who has an outstanding warrant of arrest stemming from the qualified human trafficking charges filed by authorities, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla yesterday said.
Remulla said the petition was filed last Friday, but did not specify which court the pleading was filed.
“The importance of cancelling his passport is that it would limit his options. I think he holds two or three passports pa nga, may nagsabi sa’kin ng ganu’n (someone told me). Ang mahalaga, talagang mapilitan siyang mag-account sa kanyang mga ginawa dito at depensahan niya ang sarili niya (The important thing is he should be held accountable for what he has done here and for him to defend himself also),” Remulla told reporters in a chance interview.
“Hindi pa nga nagsisimula ang lahat, tinatakasan na niya. Sa batas natin, flight is an indication of guilt. Kaya sana harapin niya na lang para naman maging madali ang lahat para sa ating bansa (He hasn’t even started defending himself, and yet he has already escaped. Under our laws, flight is an indication of guilt. That’s why he should face the charges so that it will be easy for all of us),” he also said.
Remulla said once Roque’s passport is cancelled, he will become an undocumented alien, which he said could work against his asylum application in the Netherlands.
“Syempre undocumented alien na siya. Depende ‘yan sa grant of asylum kung ibibigay sa kanya ng Netherlands. Pero, I doubt it kasi (Once he becomes an undocumented alien, it will be up to the Netherlands government if they will grant his application for asylum. But I doubt that it would because) Netherlands is one of the countries that goes against human trafficking which is the charge against Harry Roque,” he added.
If Dutch authorities reject his asylum plea, Remulla said Roque will be deported to Manila because “once you’re an undocumented alien, you have to be deported.”
Remulla said the DOJ is also eyeing a hold departure order against the other individuals named in the qualified human trafficking case to prevent them from fleeing the country.
“The purpose of the hold departure order is clear. Those accused must answer to the court. The right to travel is not absolute when legal obligations remain unfulfilled,” he explained.
Remulla earlier said he is confident that the Dutch authorities will reject Roque’s bid for political asylum as he is facing criminal complaints and not political ones.
The Angeles City Regional Trial Court Branch 118 has issued an arrest warrant against Roque, and 50 others for qualified trafficking in persons with no bail recommended in connection with their alleged involvement in the operation of a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operation (POGO) hub in Porac, Pampanga that was raided by authorities last year due to alleged illegal activities.
Roque has denied involvement in the alleged irregularities and accused the Marcos administration of allegedly singling him out for his steadfast defense of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
He went into hiding and fled the country after a committee of the House of Representatives cited him in contempt and ordered his arrest for his refusal to submit subpoenaed documents related to the panel’s inquiry on illegal POGOs.
He resurfaced at the Hague last March after Duterte was arrested and surrendered to the International Criminal Court where he is facing trial for murders as a crime against humanity for the extrajudicial killing of thousands of Filipinos in relation to his administration’s bloody war on drugs.
Meanwhile, the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) on Sunday night said one of Roque’s co-accused in the human trafficking case was nabbed last May 22 in Barangay Tabun in Mabalacat City, Pampanga.
The CIDG identified the suspect as “Marlon,” whom it said was the operations officer of the security agency hired by the Lucky South 99 Outsourcing Inc.
The CIDG said it deployed tracker teams last May 15 after arrest warrants were issued by the Angeles trial court.
On May 22, CIDG personnel caught up with Marlon, who police said is also a subject of another arrest warrant for a similar qualified trafficking in persons case pending before the same court.
CIDG director Maj. Gen. Nicolas Torre III commended his men for the “remarkable accomplishment.”
“This underscores our unrelenting effort in pursuing and putting behind bars wanted persons and fugitives with end goal of helping the victims attain the justice they deserved,” said Torre.
“This is the 1st of the 51,” said Torre, referring to the arrest of Marlon.
Torre urged the 50 other accused, including Roque and Cassandra Ong, to surrender “because the tracker teams is pursuing you 24/7 and will catch you anytime soon.”
Ong was detained at the Correctional Institution for Women in September last year after the House of Representative cited her in contempt. She was released three months later for health reasons. – With Victor Reyes
