MANILA – Malacañang denied that former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque was being politically persecuted in the Philippines, reacting to his plan to seek political asylum in the Netherlands.
According to Presidential Communications Office’s Undersecretary Claire Castro, the evidences against Roque in relation to his alleged link to illegal Philippine offshore gaming operations are “overwhelming.”
“Hindi naman ito makakaapekto. Unang-una po, magpa-file pa lang po yata siya ng petition at hindi pa ito naga-grant. Tandaan po natin, bago ma-grant, dapat mapalabas niya po na may well-founded fear of political persecution,” Castro said in a Palace media briefing.
“How could there be a political persecution if all the pieces of evidence are overwhelming? So, wala po tayong nakikitang political persecution. Harapin na lang po niya ang kaso niya dito. Mas maganda po iyan para mapakita niya sa taumbayan na wala siyang kasalanan,” she added.
In a virtual press conference from the Netherlands on Monday night, Roque said he would seek political asylum there as he intends to join the legal team of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Roque claimed that he was a victim of political persecution, accusing the House of Representatives Quad Committee of investigating POGOs with a “political motivation.”
Roque has been in hiding since September 2024, after an arrest order was issued against him by the House QuadComm for skipping the hearing into the POGO operations in the country.
In October last year, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission and the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group filed human trafficking charges against Roque and two others for their alleged involvement in Lucky South 99 Corporation, a POGO hub raided in Porac, Pampanga.
On March 14, Roque was seen with Vice President Sara Duterte and Sen. Robin Padilla at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Netherlands where Duterte was detained over charges of crimes against humanity in connection with his anti-illegal drugs war.
Roque has been tapped as one of Duterte’s legal counsels, along with former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea and British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman./PN
