JOEL Vega, a Filipino based in the Netherlands, has petitioned the Dutch authorities anew to expel former Malacañang spokesman Harry Roque from the country.
Roque is currently wanted in the Philippines primarily due to an arrest warrant issued by a regional trial court in Pampanga for non-bailable qualified human trafficking charges. These charges are linked to his alleged participation in the operations of Lucky South 99, an illegal Philippine offshore gaming operator hub that was raided for criminal activities, including human trafficking and torture.
Roque is currently seeking asylum in European Union countries.
”Mr. Roque has made a habit of exploiting the democratic freedoms in Europe, using these liberties to attack political adversaries back in the Philippines. Living abroad should not grant someone the opportunity to derogate others without accountability,” Vega said in the petition’s description on Saturday. He filed a similar petition last year.
”In recent years, the Philippines has struggled with political polarization, and individuals like Mr. Roque, who sow seeds of division while benefiting from the protective cocoon of Europe’s freedom of speech, contribute to widening this divide. A nation already grappling with its democratic ideals cannot afford voices that only serve to destabilize rather than unite,” he added.
The Netherlands denied Roque asylum last year and directed him to Austria under the Dublin Regulation.
”As a well-connected lawyer with active influence among the Duterte (former president Rodrigo Duterte) supporters, Mr. Roque’s claim of political persecution is baseless, considering that he is free to criticize the current Marcos regime, which, in the first place, came to power with the machinations of the Duterte politicians themselves and their followers,” Vega said.
Roque was originally living in the Netherlands, where Duterte is detained, awaiting trial for crimes against humanity allegedly committed during his bloody drug war before the International Criminal Court in The Hague.