Malacañang has called on former Duterte spokesperson Harry Roque to return to the Philippines and face charges of violating the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, a non-bailable criminal offense.
The call was issued by the Palace following the issuance of an arrest warrant against Roque together with his client, Whirlwind Corp. incorporator Cassandra Ong and 48 others.
All the accused have been linked to the Lucky South 99, a Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) facility in Pampanga that was raided by authorities on June 2024 for unlawful activities. Prosecutors have alleged that the POGO operator subjected their victims to forced labor aside from kidnapping individuals who were unable to pay their online gambling debts.
In the case of Roque, prosecutors said that in his capacity as legal counsel for the involved corporations, he was either aware of or willfully ignored the alleged unlawful nature of their operations and actively participated in securing the renewal of their gaming license.
Roque left the Philippines in September after being cited for contempt for refusing to attend House hearings into offshore gambling sites used as fronts for criminal activities.
In a reaction from his current base in The Netherlands, Roque has cried political persecution. He vowed to exhaust all available remedies to secure his life and liberty, which are “under threat.”
Citing his pending asylum petition in The Netherlands, Roque said he had the right to refoulement under international law. This means that he cannot be returned to his home country where he might face torture, cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment and other irreparable harm.
Malacañang said Roque should not use his request for political asylum to evade arrest.
“If there is a valid warrant of arrest and he has to face charges, then he should not hide behind his petition for asylum,” said Undersecretary Claire Castro of the Presidential Communications Office.
Castro, a lawyer, added that Roque should prove that moves to bring him back to the Philippines to face the case were efforts to politically persecute and harass him.
She rejected Roque’s claim that he was a victim of political persecution due to his close ties to former president Rodrigo Duterte and his daughter, Vice-president Sara Duterte.
“Iyan po naman talaga ang kaniyang magiging naratibo, kaniyang depensa pero hindi po niya sinasagot nang mabuti kung nasaan nga ba iyong mga dokumentong kaniyang ipinangako sa House of Representatives at that time na nagkaroon po hearing sa QuadCom,” added the Palace official.
(That is his narrative, his defense but he is not answering properly what happened to the documents he promised to submit to the House of Representatives during the QuadCom hearings.)
“Kung anuman iyong mga sinasabing diumano hidden wealth niya ay hindi pa rin niya po natutugunan,” she also said.
(About the allegations of hidden wealth, he has not answered them, too.)
Castro said that government may consider getting help from the International Police Organization (Interpol).
Department of Justice (DOJ) spokesperson Mico Clavano said the Interpol option is one of the diplomatic channels available to bring Roque home to face trial.
The DOJ spokesman emphasized that all efforts to arrest Roque and his co-accused was “a matter of prosecution for a crime in the Philippines.” He stressed Roque is not being singled out.
At the Senate, Sen. Risa Hontiveros challenged Roque to return to the country and prove his innocence in court.
“Harry Roque must be compelled to return to the Philippines. If he doesn’t, not only would he be evading an arrest order from Congress, he would also be defying a lawful order from (the) court,” said Hontiveros who presided over the Senate investigation of the offshore gaming industry during the Duterte administration.
