Former Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Denies Asylum Application Is Tossed To Another Country

THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS — Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque has denied anew claims that his asylum application in the Netherlands has been rejected, responding to Philippine Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla’s June 18 statement that his case had been referred to another country.

“Ang alam ko hindi siya nabigyan ng Netherlands kaya nasa Germany na ang pagbibigay nito kung sa baka sakali (As far as I know the Netherlands did not grant his asylum that’s why it’s now up to Germany if he will be given one),” Remulla told reporters in Manila.

In a Facebook post, Roque maintained that his asylum process in the Netherlands is ongoing and criticized the Marcos administration as a “purveyor of fake news.” He explained that his trip to Germany was pre-arranged to administer an oath-taking ceremony for members of Hakbang ng Maisug Germany, upon invitation from the Filipino community. He added, “I am now back at The Hague in the Netherlands.”

While Roque has revealed few details about his case, he noted that he had completed all procedures. Due to privacy protocols, the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) that handles asylum applications does not comment publicly on individual cases. Asylum is protection given by a country to a person who has left their home country as a political refugee.

Dutch-Filipino former journalist and activist Joel Vega, who organized a petition opposing Roque’s asylum, said his source confirmed that Roque’s file was marked with a Dublin Regulation annotation. Vega stated on his public Facebook account that the Netherlands did not formally initiate an asylum probe, instead referring Roque to another EU country—allegedly where he obtained his Schengen visa.

The Dublin Regulation is a European Union mechanism that assigns responsibility for processing an asylum application to a single member state—typically the one where the applicant first entered, has family ties, or was issued a visa.

Shortly after the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte on March 11, Roque appeared in The Hague on March 14, during the first appearance of Duterte at the International Criminal Court. This after months of being away from the public eye. He immediately announced that he would apply for asylum in the Netherlands.

“I cried. I was sobbing,” he told reporters of the moment his application was received at the IND facility in Ter Apel.

He argued that applying for asylum would protect him from extradition, citing international convention rights.

In May, a Philippine court issued a non-bailable warrant of arrest for Roque over alleged human trafficking linked to a gaming operator in Pampanga. DOJ Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty earlier said Remulla directed efforts to block Roque’s asylum claim.

Remulla added that the Philippine government is awaiting the cancellation of Roque’s passport, saying, “Once that happens, and he becomes an undocumented alien, Interpol can take action.”

Photo: Harry Roque, on stage, during a gathering of Duterte supporters in the Hague, on May 31.