DOJ to seek passport cancellation, Interpol red notice vs. Harry Roque

By Benjamin Pulta, Philippine News Agency

Roque, who left the Philippines in September after the House of Representatives cited him for contempt for refusing to attend hearings on Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs), is seeking political asylum in the Netherlands. (File Photo: House of Representatives of the Philippines/Facebook)

MANILA – The government is bent on bringing home former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque to face charges for qualified trafficking stemming from the operations of the scam hub Lucky South 99 in Porac, Pampanga.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla confirmed they will be acting shortly for the cancellation of Roque’s passport.

“Hindi ko pa napirmahan (I have not signed it yet) but we will do that,” Remulla said.

“(H)e will be an undocumented alien. Pag wala siyang asylum at nakansel ang passport niya (If he does not get asylum and his passport is cancelled), he will have to be deported.”

The justice chief said they will also seek a “red notice” for Roque from the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).

Roque, who left the Philippines in September after the House of Representatives cited him for contempt for refusing to attend hearings on Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs), is seeking political asylum in the Netherlands.

Remulla, however, believes that the Netherlands “will not tolerate the commission of crimes that are being charged here.”

“And they could see that the justice system is working, that we have given due process to him to answer. He answered the complaint in Abu Dhabi. We considered everything, and the panel of prosecutors was able to reach a conclusion that he was to be charged,” he said.

The Department of Justice had filed qualified human trafficking and regular human trafficking cases against Roque for his alleged participation not just as a lawyer for Whirlwind, the company that leased its Porac compound to Lucky South 99, but also in organizing the POGO firm.

A Pampanga court earlier this month issued arrest warrants against Roque, businesswoman Cassandra Ong, and others for alleged human trafficking in relation to the raided POGO hub.

The court said it found probable cause against the accused for violations under the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2022, which penalizes, among other things, any person who “recruit, transport, transfer, harbor, obtain, maintain, offer, hire, provide, or receive a person… for purposes of forced labor, slavery, debt bondage, and involuntary servitude.”