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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider De Lima to Roque: 'Bumalik na siya dito'

De Lima to Roque: 'Bumalik na siya dito'

Published May 19, 2025 11:20 pm

At A Glance

  • Mamamayang Liberal (​ML) Party-list congresswoman-elect Leila de Lima has challenged former presidential spokesman Harry Roque, who once wished her to spend a lifetime in jail, to go back to the Philippines and face the arrest warrant against him.
Mamamayang Liberal (​ML) Party-list congresswoman-elect Leila de Lima has challenged former presidential spokesman Harry Roque, who once wished her to spend a lifetime in jail, to go back to the Philippines and face the arrest warrant against him.
Speaking before reporters after her proclamation at the Manila Hotel on Monday, May 19, De Lima said she only has one message for Roque. "Bumalik na siya dito (Just return here)."
De Lima said Roque, who was last seen in The Hague in the Netherlands, must face the allegations against him and not hide in other countries while invoking political asylum.
"Ganoon na lang? Di sya babalik dito para harapin? May warrant of arrest na (Is that it? He will no longer return to the country although there is a warrant against him)," she said.
"At alam nya naman na yan. Bilang isang abogado (And he knows that as a lawyer), there is such a principle or dictum in law that flight is indicative of guilt," she added.
Roque, along with businesswoman Cassandra Ong and others, has been ordered arrested by a Pampanga court for alleged human trafficking in relation to Lucky South 99 Corp., a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub raided in Porac.
The court said it found probable cause against Roque and his co-accused for violations under the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2022, which penalizes, among other things, any person who "recruit, transport, transfer, harbor, obtain, maintain, offer, hire, provide, or receive a person... for purposes of forced labor, slavery, debt bondage, and involuntary servitude".
During the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte, which jailed De Lima and where Roque once served as a presidential spokesman, Roque issued a sarcastic remark against the congresswoman-elect, who was then a senator.
"As I said, happy anniversary on your first year of detention. May you spend the rest of your life in jail," Roque said.
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