Palace: Bring home Roque

Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro said Monday that former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque should be challenged to return to the Philippines after he had surfaced in The Hague in The Netherlands.

At a press briefing, Castro was asked how the Philippine government views Roque's appearance in The Netherlands since he flew out of the country after being implicated in the operations of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators.

''I cannot speak [on] behalf of the quad comm, [on] behalf of the House of Representatives because it's the arrest warrant ng House ang hindi napapatupad dahil po sa pagtatago ni Atty. Harry Roque (it's the arrest warrant of the House that was not enforced because of Atty. Harry Roque's hiding),'' Castro said.

''Mas maganda po siguro na i-challenge po natin siya na siya po 'yung umuwi kasi di ba 'Bring Home, FP Duterte,' so siguro mas magandang isigaw po rin ng mga tao, 'Bring Home Roque,''' she added.

(It's better if we challenge him to come home because there's 'Bring Home, FP Duterte, right? It's better if we will also call for 'Bring Home Roque.)

To recall, Roque was also cited in contempt and ordered detained by the House Quad Committee (QuadComm) on September 13, 2024 after he refused to submit documents that would supposedly explain his increased wealth.

Roque earlier said that no arrest warrant has been issued against him.

The QuadComm has been asked for comment regarding Roque's presence in The Netherlands but has yet to issue a comment as of posting time.

Roque, a listed counsel of the International Criminal Court, was part of the legal team of former President Rodrigo Duterte who is facing charges for crimes against humanity in connection with the killings under his administration's war on drugs.

Duterte's lawyers will also include former Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, and a member of the British Bar, Attorney Nicholas Kaufman.

The ICC pre-trial chamber found reasonable grounds to believe Duterte was "individually responsible for the crimes against humanity of murder" in connection with the killings blamed on his war on drugs.

It stated that the Duterte Death Squad (DDS) and Philippine law enforcement personnel under his leadership targeted persons allegedly involved in drug-related criminal activities.

Government records show that there were at least 6,200 drug suspects killed in police operations from June 2016 to November 2021, but several human rights groups have refuted this and said that the number may have reached as much as 30,000 due to unreported related killings.—AOL, GMA Integrated News