Lawmaker says Roque should offer legal aid to detained OFWs in Qatar

Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque should offer legal counsel to the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were arrested in Qatar for an unauthorized political demonstration, House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs chairperson and Tingog party-list Representative Jude Acidre said.

“While the Marcos administration is helping out our fellow Filipinos who were arrested in Qatar, it would be better if Attorney Roque will offer his skills as an international lawyer to provide help to our fellow Filipinos there,” Acidre said.

Roque earlier appealed to the Qatar authorities to understand the sentiments of the Filipinos who were expressing their support for former president Rodrigo Duterte, who was arrested on an International Criminal Court warrant for alleged crimes against humanity and brought to The Hague for trial.

However, Acidre said, Roque "has no legal standing to make the appeal to Qatari authorities."

"Secondly, he is a fugitive who has a standing contempt order from the House QuadComm and a pending [qualified] human trafficking case over his alleged involvement in POGO-linked crimes. The only thing he could do to help our OFWs is legal aid,” he added.

“He has no official business in the Netherlands. He is not a part of the [Duterte] defense team,” Acidre also said.

Roque has applied for asylum in The Netherlands, citing that he was being persecuted in the Philippines.

'I can't travel'

In response to Acidre's remarks, Roque said he would have extended help if circumstances allowed it.

"I can't travel right now. But I would [help them] if I could," Roque told GMA News Online in a Whatsapp message.

The Marcos administration has denied persecuting Roque and has since urged him to come home and face the allegations against him.

There were initially 20 Filipinos in Qatar who were arrested, but three of them who are minors have since been released.

The Palace vowed that they will receive legal aid. On Wednesday, Vice President Sara Duterte also said her office will help the arrested OFWs.

Unauthorized gatherings in Qatar can lead to imprisonment of up to three years. The Philippine Embassy in the Persian Gulf nation had warned Filipinos against holding unsanctioned rallies, days before the arrests were made. — BM, GMA Integrated News