Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque on Tuesday dismissed as “fake news” Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla’s claim that his asylum application in Austria had been denied.
“For the nth time, Secretary Jonvic Remulla has publicly claimed that my application for asylum in Austria has been denied. This is fake news,” Roque said in a statement.
Roque disputed Remulla’s claim that his asylum application should be considered denied because Austrian authorities allegedly failed to act on it within six months.
“There is no such rule that automatically converts the passage of six months into a denial of an asylum application,” Roque said.
“My application for asylum has been submitted for resolution, and I continue to await the official decision of the competent Austrian asylum authorities,” he said.
Roque added that until Austrian authorities formally issue a decision on his application, claims that his asylum bid had already been denied were “false and misleading.”
He also urged public officials to verify their information before making “categorical statements“ on matters under the jurisdiction of a foreign sovereign state.
“Beware of fake news—even when it comes from government officials,” Roque said.
