Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla maintained his stance that former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque’s petition for asylum in Austria was turned down, despite Roque dismissing the claim as untrue.
The Interior Chief challenged the fugitive lawyer to produce official documents showing that his application was approved.
Remulla acknowledged, however, that Philippine authorities have not yet received formal confirmation from the Austrian government regarding the status of the petition.
Remulla stressed that Roque does not meet the criteria for political protection due to the nature of his cases.
“Human trafficking is an internationally recognized crime and I’m pretty sure that the government, The Netherlands will realize that this person is not deserving of political asylum.”
Pointing out that Roque submitted his petition 10 months ago—well beyond the standard six-month processing window—Remulla argued that the lapse in time works against the former official.
“So if in six months you are not given asylum formally ano yun fair game na,’’ Remulla insisted.
The Interior Secretary added that authorities are prepared to apprehend Roque once an Interpol Red Notice is officially served.
“What he (Roque) is saying is that there is no formal denial but there is no formal acceptance either so he is in the gray zone. Tapos na yung application period niya so if you think it is not valid show us a document that you’re immune from the Red Notice. If he doesn’t show it I’m gonna get him,’’ Remulla vowed.
Roque originally sought political asylum in the Netherlands, but jurisdiction was transferred to Austria under the Dublin Agreement because Austrian officials had issued his Schengen visa.
In a recent social media livestream, Roque acknowledged that the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) turned down both his primary application and subsequent appeal before transferring his case.