THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque remained in The Hague on Tuesday after disembarking from a flight to Austria because doctors had not cleared him to travel.
In a Facebook Live video, Roque said he got off KLM Royal Dutch Airlines flight KL 1901 after airport personnel saw a medical certificate indicating he was “unfit to fly” following a recent surgery. He dismissed social media reports that he had been arrested in Amsterdam.
Roque was scheduled to fly to Vienna as part of an EU asylum request under the “Dublin Regulation,” which requires that asylum seekers be processed by the country that issued their visa. He said Austria was supposed to receive him for asylum processing, but the flight did not push through.
The flight disruption occurred shortly after the Department of Foreign Affairs announced it had canceled Roque’s Philippine passport in compliance with a Pasig City Regional Trial Court order. Roque faces qualified trafficking charges related to his alleged role as legal officer of Lucky South 99, a Pogo hub that was shut down in June 2024.
Under EU rules, the country of first entry may return asylum seekers to the member state responsible for processing their application. Roque said he believed he had no option to refuse the flight despite being advised against traveling.
Roque posted a photo of his boarding pass on Facebook, showing a Vienna-bound flight at 9:40 a.m. with a boarding time of 9:15 a.m.
