De Lima to Roque: Come home and face charges against you

Congresswoman-elect Leila de Lima on Monday urged former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque to return to the Philippines and face the charges against him. 

De Lima made the remark at the sidelines of the Commission on Elections’ proclamation of party-list winners in the 2025 national and local elections when asked to comment on the warrant of arrest against Roque. 

“Ang pinakamensahe ko lang sa kanya, bumalik na sya dito. Harapin niya, harapin niya yung mga akusasyon laban sa kanya. Huwag siya dapat nagtatago sa ibang bansa o… under the application for asylum ay ganun na lang [na] hindi siya babalik dito para harapin,” De Lima said. 

(My message to him, he should return here. He should face the allegations against him. He should not be hiding in other countries… under the application for asylum it appears he is not coming back to face them.)

De Lima reminded her fellow lawyer that flight is an indication of guilt. 

“May warrant of arrest na at alam naman niya yan bilang isang abogado na there is such a principle or a dictum in law that flight is indicative of guilt. So dapat harapin niya,” she added. 

(There is now a warrant of arrest and he knows as a lawyer that there is such a principle or a dictum in that that flight is indicative of guilt. So he must face this.) 

The former justice secretary and former senator is the first nominee of Mamamayang Liberal Party-list, which won in the 2025 national and local elections. 

Recently, the Pampanga Regional Trial Court-Branch 118 issued a warrant of arrest against Roque, and 49 others for qualified human trafficking in relation with the alleged scam hub run by the company Lucky South 99.

Roque, a staunch critic of De Lima, is seeking asylum in the Netherlands. He resurfaced in The Hague following the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte last March. —RF, GMA Integrated News