Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque in The Hague, with Sen. Robin Padilla (partially out of body). —Picture by Jofelle Tesorio | The Filipino Correspondent Community -Netherlands
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque expressed elation after formally submitting his asylum utility to the Immigratie en Naturalisatie Dienst (IND), the Netherlands’ immigration bureau.
“I cried. I used to be sobbing,” Roque stated in Filipino, recalling the second his utility was formally obtained at Ter Apel, the IND middle the place all asylum seekers start their course of.
Ter Apel is within the Westerwolde, a municipality in Groningen Province, over 250 kilometers from The Hague. It homes the primary reception middle of the Central Company for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA).
Asylum seekers are required to remain at COA services after registration whereas awaiting their first interview and subsequent appointments except they’ve various lodging.
Roque registered at Ter Apel on March 19, 2025, and confirmed that he underwent his first interview just a few days later.
READ: On-line petition vs Roque’s asylum request will get over 21,000 signatures
Months in hiding
The previous spokesperson is presently going through human trafficking complaints filed with the Division of Justice, stemming from his alleged involvement within the operations of a Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) hub.
He has gone into hiding after the Home of Representatives quad committee issued an arrest order, citing him for contempt and ordering his detention for failing to supply paperwork justifying his sudden enhance in wealth.
After months in hiding, Roque reappeared publicly on March 14, alongside Vice President Sara Duterte and Sen. Robin Padilla, outdoors the Worldwide Legal Court docket (ICC) premises.
That was the day former President Rodrigo Duterte first appeared at a pre-trial chamber of the Worldwide Legal Court docket (ICC).
Whereas Roque has expressed his dedication to defending Duterte, he’s not a part of the previous president’s ICC authorized group, as his asylum bid could pose problems, in response to the Vice President Duterte.
Reduction from hiding
Roque is now awaiting his second interview, which he described as a prolonged course of, probably taking months and even as much as a yr and a half.
Reflecting on his journey, Roque shared his reduction, saying in Filipino: “No extra hiding. That’s after I signed my asylum utility I actually cried. I used to be sobbing as a result of this was the primary time in 16 months that I wasn’t hiding from the police.”
Roque emphasised that the formal acknowledgment of his utility would guarantee his safety beneath the precept of non-refoulement, which stipulates that no particular person ought to be returned to a rustic the place they face threats of persecution.
Roque addressed Duterte supporters gathered in entrance of the ICC Detention Centre at Scheveningen, The Hague — greater than 250 kilometers from Ter Apel — to have a good time the eightieth birthday of the previous president.
On March 27, he posted a photograph on his Fb account, saying “again on the Hague” with Vice President Duterte, Senator Padilla, and two others. The photograph had town corridor constructing of The Hague and Amare, a cultural middle, as background.
Roque beforehand defined what would occur as soon as he had filed an utility for asylum.
“The mere incontrovertible fact that I utilized would give me the correct to not be returned to the Philippines — even when they get a warrant of arrest, even when they file for extradition. That’s clearly a matter of conference rights,” he stated.
In line with Roque, after his first interview for his asylum utility with the immigration bureau IND, he can go wherever.
He stated he’s presently staying in a dormitory-like facility whereas ready for his first interview, including that he has a roommate from Afghanistan.
“After this very first interview, I can freely return to The Hague as a result of this place is to date. And I’m not detained. In actual fact, I can exit — like now, I simply got here from the grocery,’ he stated earlier, saying it took half-hour to stroll there and again.
Petition towards his asylum bid
In the meantime, a web-based petition opposing Roque’s asylum bid is gaining traction, with particular person letters addressed to the IND being despatched by Filipinos.
Lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc within the Philippines are additionally planning to jot down to members of the Dutch parliament to precise their opposition.
In line with ACT Academics party-list Rep. France Castro, they intend to collaborate with the Home of Representatives in sending official communication relating to the asylum bid.
Moreover, a Philippine-born Dutch citizen, author Joel Vega, has launched a signature drive towards Roque’s utility, arguing that the previous Palace official was not a sufferer of political persecution.
In response to those efforts, Roque emphasised that asylum functions wouldn’t be topic to public voting however as a substitute would require proof of “unjust prosecution.”
He stated that he was planning to current the arrest warrant issued by the Home quad committee, in addition to resolutions from the Division of Justice in regards to the human trafficking grievance towards him, which is linked to a raid on a Pogo hub.
Avoiding accountability
Lean Jimenez of Bayan-Europe criticized Roque, asserting that he should first handle allegations of involvement in Pogo operations and human trafficking.
“Till now, he has been avoiding this. Asylum safety is supposed for people persecuted by their governments for political actions, permitting them to flee or condemn their authorities,’ Jimenez argued.
People conversant in the asylum course of within the Netherlands have expressed dismay, describing Roque’s utility as a travesty of the correct to assert asylum in a secure nation.
They famous that real asylum seekers usually keep away from publicizing their functions out of concern for his or her security. Whereas awaiting selections, they continue to be incognito and tackle menial jobs, reminiscent of apple selecting, inside the restricted hours permitted beneath the process.
Jimenez additional criticized Roque’s asylum bid as a handy software to evade accountability within the Philippines, urging the Dutch authorities to not accommodate it.
“Right here within the Netherlands, there are lots of refugees making use of for asylum — actual refugees affected by wars within the Center East or activists in search of safety from harassment by their states,” he stated.
Eunice de Asis of Migrante-Amsterdam — a migrant employee serving on the group advising Amsterdam Metropolis Corridor on migrants and the undocumented — additionally opposed Roque’s, saying that he “doesn’t deserve asylum.”
“After all, it’s the correct of Mr. Roque to use for asylum if he thinks he has a foundation,” de Asis stated in Filipino.
“However there’s a distinction between our view that we now have a foundation and the fact on the bottom. So many asylum seekers have a legitimate purpose for making use of, however they have been denied for varied causes — as a result of they didn’t know the right way to navigate the system or they didn’t have a lawyer. They didn’t know the right way to do it,” she added.
De Asis, who additionally works with totally different asylum rights organizations, famous that deserving asylum seekers get denied for easy technicalities. And she or he discovered it unfair for different asylum seekers who even got here right here at a really younger age.
“Many asylum seekers right here began it once they have been younger and simply grew outdated. So that they have been by no means in a position to go to highschool to review. Generally, they don’t know the right way to learn. And typically, they don’t know the right way to communicate Dutch or English. So hey can’t perceive the system of making use of,” de Asis stated.
“It will be unhappy if Mr. Roque would apply and be given a allow to remain as a refugee, after which he would use this method so he needn’t reply for his obligations legally within the Philippines,” she added.
De Asis additionally questioned the intent of Roque’s asylum bid.
“You may see what Mr. Roque’s actual curiosity is. First, he stated he was a counsel of [former President] Duterte. After which later, he stated he would apply as a refugee. So did he come right here to assist Tatay Digs [Duterte]? Or did heh come right here to use for asylum?” she stated
“In order that’s an enormous query for me. Is his life at risk? Properly, he was beside VP Sara and Sen. Robin Padilla — who’re a part of the federal government,” she added.
Stricter guidelines
The present ruling coalition within the Netherlands is pushing for a stricter asylum regime.
Early in March 2025, the Dutch cupboard accepted the proposal by Asylum and Migration Minister Marjolein Faber to submit her asylum reform package deal to the Home of Representatives.
Faber, whose social gathering claims that the “asylum disaster” within the Netherlands and Europe have to be addressed, stated the Dutch folks desire a basic shift in coverage course, lowering the variety of asylum seekers getting into the nation and rising the returns of these not entitled to remain.
The asylum reform package deal consists of the Asylum Emergency Measures Act and the Twin Standing System Act, seen because the strictest asylum coverage in Dutch historical past — if accepted.
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The Asylum Emergency Measures Act consists of provisions to abolish everlasting residence permits, scale back asylum allow validity to three years, develop the declaration of undesirability, introduce stricter circumstances for household reunification, and measures to streamline asylum procedures.
