Former Sen. Leila de Lima Says Harry Roque Should Return to PH
LEILA DE LIMA – The Mamamayang Liberal party-list representative-elect spoke on the case of Harry Roque amid a pending arrest warrant in the Philippines.
Former Sen. De Lima is now back in the Philippine government. She was detained for six years, eight months, and 21 days due to drug charges. Last June, the former Senator was acquitted.
After more than six (6) years of detention, former Sen. Leila de Lima returns to the Philippine government as the representative of the Mamamayang Liberal party-list. She also agreed to be part of the prosecution team on the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
Recently, ML party-list Rep. Leila de Lima spoke on the case of former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque who is currently in The Hague, Netherlands. She stressed that Roque should return to the Philippines and face the accusations against him.
An arrest warrant was recently-issued by a local court against Harry Roque, Cassandra Ong, and 49 others over allegations of involvement with the illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming operations. The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group or CIDG previously said that tracker teams were deployed for the arrest of Harry Roque and 50 others.
However, it is no secret to the public that the former presidential spox is currently abroad. He was spotted in the Netherlands when the custody of his former boss, former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte, was transferred under the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Harry Roque also claimed that he is an asylum seeker in the Netherlands. According to him, there is no more need for him to hide as asylum seekers allegedly cannot be deported while the application process is ongoing.
Roque further claimed that the application process may take up to a year and a half. However, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ), they may seek the assistance of the Interpol in the arrest of Roque.
Recently, ML party-list Rep. Leila de Lima called on Harry Roque to go home and face the accusations against him. Based on a report on Inquirer, the ML party-list Representative stressed that Roque knows what flight means for lawyers.
“He has a warrant of arrest already and he knows that, as a lawyer, there is such a principle or a dictum in law that flight is indicative of guilt, so he should face it,” she said.
Previously, the DOJ stressed that the arrest warrant against Roque is “prosecution and not persecution”.