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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Ridon repeats lecture: DFA can't cancel passports without court order

Ridon repeats lecture: DFA can't cancel passports without court order

Published Oct 18, 2025 04:36 pm

At A Glance

  • Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon has reiterated that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) cannot cancel the passport of any individual—whether it's former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque or former Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co—without a valid court order.
Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon (PPAB)
Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon (PPAB)


Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon has reiterated that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) cannot cancel the passport of any individual—whether it's former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque or former Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co—without a valid court order.
“Kahit sino pa yan, si Zaldy Co man o si Harry Roque, hindi pwedeng magkansela ng pasaporte ang DFA nang walang court order (Whoever it is, whether it's Zaldy Co or Harry Roque, the DFA can't cancel passports without a court order),” Ridon said on Saturday, Oct. 18,
Ridon, who serves as overall chairperson of the House Infrastructure Committee and a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, brought up former presidential spokesperson Roque as an example amid calls from other solons to cancel Co's passport.
Ridon notes that such authority is "neither found in the Constitution nor in the Philippine Passport Act".
According to the House leader, the DFA must strictly follow the procedures outlined under the Passport Act if it seeks to cancel any passport.
“Para maproseso ang pagkakansela ng mga pasaporte nilang dalawa, kailangan lang sundin ang proseso sa Passport Act — kasuhan si Zaldy Co at ipatupad ang arrest warrant ni Harry Roque,” Ridon underscored.
(To process the cancellation of both their passports, the procedure under the Passport Act simply needs to be followed — file charges against Zaldy Co and enforce the arrest warrant for Harry Roque.)
Co is a former Committee on Appropriations chairman who's tagged in the flood control projects corruption scandal. He is abroad, but his current whereabouts are unknown. 
Roque, on the other hand, has been in hiding for over a year now after the House quad-committee (quad-comm) ordered his arrest after failing to submit subpoenaed documents crucial to the joint panel's investigation on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO). The probe took place during the previous 19th Congress.
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