DFA urged: Bring Roque back to Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) must coordinate with Dutch authorities and facilitate the return to the country of former presidential spokesman Harry Roque, the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives urged yesterday.

ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro, Gabriela women’s party Rep. Arlene Brosas and Kabataan party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel also lambasted Roque for “shamelessly” attempting to escape accountability by seeking asylum in the Netherlands.

“We call on the Department of Foreign Affairs to coordinate with Dutch authorities to deny any asylum request from Roque and facilitate his return to the Philippines to face the charges against him,” Castro, Brosas and Manuel said in a joint statement.

They stressed that this cowardly maneuver by a former human rights lawyer is a clear attempt to evade the warrant of arrest issued against him by the House of Representatives after being cited in contempt for failing to provide documents regarding his alleged involvement in Lucky South 99, a Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) in Porac, Pampanga.

“Mr. Roque, if your conscience is really clear, why are you hiding? Come home and face the allegations against you. What you need is not asylum, but courage to face the truth,” Brosas said.

In Congress, Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong also called on Roque to return to the Philippines, especially since he no longer has any business in The Hague after he was dropped as one of the lawyers of former president Rodrigo Duterte before the International Criminal Court (ICC).

“He has no business in the Netherlands. Even Vice President Sara Duterte knows, and they already know, that attorney Harry is bringing too much problem to them,” Adiong stressed.

“As a lawyer, he’s bound to respect the law (in the Philippines). I don’t know why he does not want to defend himself. He’s a lawyer himself, why evade or become elusive? He needs to face the charges. He knows how to deal with it. He can effectively defend himself,” he explained further.

La Union 1st District Rep. Paolo Ortega V echoed the same sentiments. “He (Roque) should come home. The best-case scenario for him is to come home. That’s his best option,” he said.

Taguig 2nd district Rep. Pammy Zamora dared Roque to immediately return to the Philippines and face the legal battles awaiting him, rather than seek refuge abroad.

“You’re not a part of the defense team of the ex-president, then why don’t you face the charges against you here? You can’t evade the law by seeking refuge abroad. Suddenly appearing out of hiding to join the ICC proceedings isn’t heroism – it’s pure political theater,” Zamora stressed.

‘Place Bato under BI watchlist’

Brosas also asked the Marcos government to place Sen. Ronald dela Rosa under the watchlist of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to prevent him from escaping.

“The Marcos Jr. administration must not allow Dela Rosa to do a Harry Roque or Alice Guo escape. Placing Dela Rosa on a watchlist is the bare minimum,” Brosas said, adding that victims of the drug war, many of whom were women and children left without breadwinners, deserve justice.

“It seems that Bato (Dela Rosa) has softened, he is now afraid to be arrested by the ICC,” Brosas said.

“His statement reveals the guilt and fear of someone who knows the gravity of the crimes committed under the drug war he implemented.

“It is not right playing tough and courageous now, then just run when the day of reckoning comes,” she added. – Delon Porcalla