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DOJ vows to chase, bring back Filipino fugitives abroad

Philippines | National

DOJ vows to chase, bring back Filipino fugitives abroad

By Jeffrey Damicog

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday, May 29, has vowed to pursue its efforts to chase and bring back Filipino fugitives abroad.

“Hindi ho kami tumitigil (We are not stopping). Hindi ho tumitigil ang trabaho ng DOJ (The DOJ is not stopping doing its job),” Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla said.

Remulla explained: “Ito po'y pangangailangan ng taumbayan na magkaroon ng hustisya para naman ang bansa mismo na minamahal nila ay magmamahal din sa kanila (this is needed by our citizens who need justice so that the country that they love can also show back its love).”

His statement was issued after Timor-Leste immigration police arrested on Tuesday night, May 27, former Negros Oriental 3rd District representative Arnolfo A. Teves Jr.

Teves is expected to be repatriated to the Philippines as an undocumented alien after his passport had been cancelled on order of a Manila trial court on charges of multiple murder and other criminal offenses.

“Ang mahalaga po ‘yung mga pamilya na nawalan po ng mga mahal sa buhay ay magkaroon ng hustisya (What is important is that the families of the victims get justice),” Remulla said.

One of the fugitives abroad is former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque who has applied for asylum in the Netherlands.

The DOJ has already sought the cancelation of Roque’s passport after the Angeles City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 118 issued warrants of arrest against him and his co-accused on non-bailable qualified human trafficking cases involving Lucky South 99, a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) in Porac, Pampanga that has been shut down by the government.

Roque left the Philippines last year before the charges could be filed in court. His asylum application in the Netherlands is still pending.

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