Roque denies Netherlands blocked asylum bid

MANILA, Philippines — Former presidential spokesman Harry Roque has refuted claims of the justice secretary that he was denied asylum by the Netherlands.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla earlier said the government received information that Netherlands’ rejection prompted Roque to turn to the government of Germany to seek asylum.

“What I know is that he was denied asylum by the Netherlands so it’s now up to Germany to grant it, if ever,” he told reporters yesterday.

In a statement, Roque dubbed Remulla’s update about his asylum application as “fake news.”

He said he was back in the Netherlands after attending a gathering of Filipino migrant workers in Germany.

“Strike two for the DOJ secretary. First, he said I have multiple passports. Now, denied asylum. What’s this? He got information from the grapevine,” he said.

Roque said his trip to Germany was a “pre-planned activity” and not related to his asylum bid.

Remulla said the Philippine government may seek Roque’s extradition from the government of Germany, but this may no longer be needed as the former spokesman’s passport is “about to be canceled.”

“Once he becomes an undocumented alien, he can be picked up by the Interpol,” the Department of Justice chief said.

The DOJ has requested the cancellation of Roque’s passport as the latter faces qualified human trafficking charges in connection with his alleged involvement in illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators.

Remulla noted that Roque can freely move around European Union countries amid his application for asylum.

“In EU, as long as you have a visa, they have open borders. But if you become a fugitive from justice, especially if you’ve lost documentation, then you can be arrested by Interpol,” Remulla said.

Hakbang ng Maisug

“Together with Maharlika, the visit was upon the invitation of the Filipino community in Germany, where I administered the oath taking of the proud members of the Hakbang ng Maisug Germany. I am now back at The Hague in the Netherlands,” Roque said.

“Marcos Jr. does not need billions of pesos of confidential and intelligence funds to track my location. Just check my Facebook account. It is all there,” Roque said.

He had denied involvement with a POGO and claimed the charges against him are only political persecution for being an ally of the Duterte family, with whom the Marcos family had a falling out.

“There is no truth that my Schengen visa is issued by Germany and that Dutch immigration authorities have forwarded my case to Germany,” Roque said in an earlier statement posted on Facebook.

He added that the Netherlands even issued his national ID last June 11.

According to Roque, in the Netherlands, a temporary identity card called W-document is issued to asylum seekers. He maintained that as of this date, the asylum proceedings have not yet concluded.

“No one has access to the proceedings except me and the Dutch government as the matter is treated with confidentiality. I hope this information has put the issue to rest,” Roque has said.

A trial court in Angeles City, Pampanga has ordered the arrest of Roque and Chinese businesswoman Cassandra Ong, among others, on charges of qualified trafficking over their alleged involvement in the operations of an illegal POGO in the province.

The charges stemmed from the raid of Lucky South 99 in Porac, Pampanga, which allegedly operated a massive scam farm that trafficked workers.