Facing human trafficking charges in a Pampanga court, former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque turned the tables on Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla Saturday, challenging the cabinet official to follow through on his arrest threat — while pointing out it would be legally impossible.
“If you don’t want me to have you arrested, don’t arrest me here in Austria. Anyway, I’m waiting for you here in Austria, let’s meet,” Roque said in a video statement.
The lawyer-turned-fugitive argued that any attempt by Philippine authorities to detain him on foreign soil would constitute a breach of Austrian sovereignty and a violation of international law. He also questioned whether Remulla even holds the domestic authority to carry out an arrest in the first place.
“The secretary of interior and local government, even in the Philippines, does not have the power to arrest … If in the Philippines a secretary of interior and local government does not have the power to arrest, how much more so in other countries?” Roque said.
Roque has been in Europe since the Angeles City Regional Trial Court issued non-bailable arrest warrants against him and 49 co-accused in May 2025. The charges, filed by the Department of Justice, allege that he and others conspired to run a facility in Porac, Pampanga, used for kidnapping, illegal detention, torture, and sex trafficking.
Prosecutors claim Roque provided legal representation to Whirlwind Corporation and lobbied for the renewal of the gaming license of Lucky South 99 — two local companies tied to the Porac facility. Roque has denied any wrongdoing, calling the case a “travesty of justice” and political persecution.
He initially sought asylum in the Netherlands, but a Filipino-Dutch writer named Joel Vega said an online petition he launched drew 21,000 signatures opposing the bid. Dutch immigration authorities subsequently rejected Roque’s petition and referred his case to Germany, which had reportedly issued his Schengen visa.
Among the co-accused still at large is businesswoman Cassandra Li Ong, an authorized representative of Lucky South 99 and believed to be the girlfriend of Wesley Guo, brother of former Bamban, Tarlac, Mayor Alice Guo. Full details of the charges remain sealed pending a scheduled court hearing.
