Herminio “Harry” Roque Jr. should not be granted asylum in the Netherlands, as he must face legal charges in the Philippines and return as a matter of justice. This is the central argument of Antonio J. Montalvan Jr.’s article, The Slingshot: Open Letter to the Dutch IND in Ter Apel, published by Rappler on March 18.

Montalvan claimed that Roque “is wanted in the Philippines for actively avoiding an arrest order issued by law enforcement against him.”

“A Filipino fugitive from justice is about to seek political asylum in the Netherlands through your institution, the Immigratie en Naturalisatiedienst (Immigration and Naturalization Service),” Montalvan wrote, addressing his article to Director General Rhodia Maas.

“Mr. Roque is currently in Den Haag to ask for the good graces of the International Criminal Court, which he once dismissed as a court that did not have jurisdiction over the Philippines, to allow him to lawyer for the former president of the Philippines, Mr. Rodrigo Duterte. The latter is presently detained at the ICC Detention Center in Scheveningen on charges of alleged crimes against humanity through murder,” Montalvan added.

Roque Is Not Facing Persecution but Evading Arrest

In his letter, Montalvan stressed that “Mr. Roque is not facing persecution for religious and ethnic reasons, as so many of your applicants for political asylum face.”

He noted that the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) had filed human trafficking charges against Roque and two others before the Department of Justice (DOJ).

“Those charges are not of light-hearted matter,” Montalvan wrote, further alleging that Roque also faces accusations of acquiring illegal wealth.

Montalvan stated that Roque fled the Philippines unlawfully after receiving an arrest order from the House of Representatives for repeatedly skipping a legislative inquiry on illegal hubs. He also pointed out that Roque’s wife, Mylah Roque, is facing an arrest warrant for evading legal accountability.

Roque: Foreigners Not Needed to Investigate Killings

Montalvan recalled that, while working for Duterte, Roque “repeatedly vilified the authority of the ICC.”

“He has repeatedly said that the ICC’s complementarity principle exists in the Philippines because the local courts have not declared their unwillingness and inability to investigate the war on drugs.”

Roque had also stated that “we do not need foreigners to investigate killings in the drug war because the legal system is working in the Philippines.”

However, Montalvan countered this, asserting that “that is a lie because for as long as Mr. Duterte was president, from thousands of deaths, only four convictions of police involved in extrajudicial killings were secured—clearly a minuscule number.”

“It is the greatest irony that he now turns to you for your country’s protection while he is on the run,” Montalvan added.

Asylum Bid a Means to Escape Accountability

“But wouldn’t it be a distortion of the court’s judicial integrity that one involved in an outstanding contempt citation and facing charges of qualified human trafficking be accorded the benefits of political asylum only as a form of convenience, so that he could represent Mr. Duterte in court while at the same time escape responsibility in the Philippines?” Montalvan asked.

He emphasized that Roque “is not at risk of being subjected to torture, or inhuman or degrading treatment. He does not face persecution by members of the armed forces, the police, or security forces, or by armed rebels. He is simply wanted for legal responsibility. He has to answer for the alleged violations of the law.”

“It is our explicit position that Mr. Roque’s political asylum application must be rejected and that the government of the Netherlands direct him to leave the country and return to the Philippines as a matter of justice,” Montalvan concluded.

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